Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-05-21

CAPTAIN RICHMOND p. HossoN
That Uncle. SANS greatest need in
this hour Of national crisis is a larger
navy was the opinion which Captain
Richmond F. t5O1son. hero Of the
Spauish-America war expressed
when interviewed by q representative
Of The Argus at the New Harper yes
terday
His views on preparedness follow {.
"A nation is like a living organism
and like every living thing must make
adequate provision for seIt-sacrldce II
it lis to- survive
Collective protection like that
which individuals enjoy through civil
lied government, is more effective in
the end and more economical like all
E.. cooperative enterprises, but until d
government over the nations is finally
established that demonstrates its abEI-
ity 10 protect the individual nations,
these nations must make their own
individual provision for protection.
The organized defeDses Of nation are
Of TWO kinds, land forces, based on Or
gauizing the male population into
armies, and sea forces. based on
wealth. by which property instead of
men insure protection
"0f these two kinds naval forces are
preferable. especially for d country
with free Institutions. The republics
I Of history have been founded upon
naval paper, like Anglo Saxon institu-
tions permitting the populations TO
dispense with mllItaTiSm and the cen
traiIzed institutions based on the same
"Ibe great nations of continental
Europe. however with land frontiers.
have naturally been compelled TO or
Eanize their people INTO armies and
their examples have been followed by
Japan with its territorial ambitions
. extending % continental Asia. In thss
way America du&s herself in the
midst of an armed world at the very
climax Of she period of ulIltaTisu.
ourselves unarmed. without organ
lied armies and without navy ada-
guate to control the sea in the face
Of the naFies Of military nations
whose armies are ready on short no
tiCe to cross the ocean in few weeks
and destroy our ship yards. our navy
yards, our principal aFscHals and levy
ransom and tribute upon nearly half
the wealth Of the nation without serj-
Gus resistance on our part.
Such q calamity would plunge
/ America into d long period of prep
arat}0n. fuli generation IN length,
during which miIitar5sm would sink
its roots deep into the vjtaIs OF the
nation, leading tie a second bloody
war, from which we would emerge as
military as the military nations from
which we sEraGg, and our cherished
civilization of peace and. futustr5aIism
would have reverted back to the type
Of military civilization of Europe the
Old civilization of the bayonet. and
there would be no great peace nation
left Mliltarlsn would be holding the
world Ia its grasp. IF we do not wish
10 become "a military nation with
great standing armies. we must main
tain the biggest navy Iu the world 30
stand between our peaceful shores and
the world great armies. At the pres
ent stage Of history cur fleet in the
Atlantic must be maintained superior
10 the German navy; our fleet IN Pa
ci1c superior to the japanese navy
and our two fleets combined superior
TO the British navy. Then we would
live in peace and security and our
rights would be respected abroad.
In control OF the seas we would IN
sure without protest from abroad, the
effectiveness of the Monroe doctrine
III the Atlantic and the open door pol
icy IN the Pacific, ultimately insuring
the extension over all of the high seas
Of the principle OF equal opportunity
10 all nations in the competition for
the commerce and wealth of the world.
In such a competition the great arma-
menIs would become handicap, Then
the military nations probably would
Join American leadership in develop +
ing an international government for
the collective protection OF the ma
tons The Hague conference could /
then evolve into an international par
lament. The Hague court into an in
ternatiOnal tribunal and a league or /
council into an international execuSE
tive When at last this international T.
government finally proved able to pro
tect the individual nations and to SET +
tie their difficulties by regular re (
course to justice, then these individual +
nations would volUn -GrilY lay aside I
their Improbable and unnecessary i
ornaments just as individuals under
the development of civil government +
on the frontier finally laid aside their .
weapons.
Thus Americas control OF the seas
IS not only our own best means Of pro
lection IN case Of war. our real guar
antee against war, whether direct or F
indirect. when others are at war. but
it is the firm means for the protec-
ton Of the rights Of the weak, the
rights OF humanity and is the real f
road leading 80 justice between ma
uons and ultimately to peace upon f
earth and the brotherhood of man
any living organism to survive
must remain In harmony with the
laws Of nature The most fundamental
OF which is the law of development or
evolution. Science has recently dis
covered that alcohol is the reason for
degeneracy and causes any living
tang to GO backward, bringing down
the curse of nature. the shortening of
me life and the htightine of the of
spring
young man started at the age of