The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-01-14
The United States of Tomorrow
(ny William Dodd. OF the University Chicago)

likely to be lost at the end unless the
government help them.
And meanwhile our business men
have organized in a way which en-
ables them to speak to Congress and
to the President In tones that cannot
be misunderstood. The United States
Chamber of Commerce with mead
quarters in Washington Is a more po-
tent institution than the Department
OF Commerce and it's manager is in
formed in the intricacies of trade in
ways utterly unknown to the older
days Of lobbying or outright bribery.
business men now speak from the
housetops. They work through rail-
way organizations. chambers of COM
merce and associations of bankers and
their influence is potent.
Would Make Us Menace.
Thus they are ready to spend their
energies and their wealth intelligent
ly to attain their ends. This is iegiti-
mate. What is, perhaps, not legitimate
is their effort to revolutioniZe Ameri
can ideals and purposes. If they can
make of us military nation, we shall
become menace TO che worlds peace.
But if that should be brought about,
we should no longer be the democracy
we have been. With every man in the
army. even for a short season, we
should have standing troops enough to
overawe people and military man
would determine elections and
policies.
And with such a force behind them.
the commercial leaders could, like the
German commercial leaders. keep the
world on tender hooks. browbeating
here. intimidating there and rafting
the sabre elsewhere until there would
he no way to resist us. In few
hara will "a hundred nd Hftu
millions of us and. after all that is
happening in Europe. who could gain
say the United States with twice the
wealth of Europe and twice as many
trained soldiers as any likely opponent
could set up against us.
This is no mere chimera. 1t Is the
purpose of many who are now driving
hard the propaganda of miltarism, of
men who usually have their way in
our country. The President is half
convinced that a standing army. VT at
least universal military service, il
necessary for the assertion of Ameri-
can authority in the world. The peo-
pie are beginning to be ashamed OF
, the so-called weakness of their coun-
try and Congress seems to be yield
ing to the fears of men who live in
the coast towns.
Was Prussian Policy.
Moreover. this is the way similar
changes have been wrought in the
past. Prussia moved in the same way
when she began her greater Germany
propaganda. Her pubic leaders de-
clared that for selfdefense every Ger
man should bear arms. Professors
taught their students that invasion
was always imminent. that they must
! always wear their swords ready for
an encounter. The teachers in the
common schools told the children
about their hereditary enemies and
warned constantly that only through
a big standing army was safety pos
sible. Preachers and lawyers and mer-
chant princes and shipowners told the
same tale till everybody believed in 1t
Consequently the peace-loving and
democratic Germany of 1850 was con-
vertei into the tiercest military ma
chine the world has ever known. With
such power ready for the welding. II
was no wonder that the Kaiser ratified
his sword. that business men declared
that they must have markets, that
shipowners could never be satisfied to
see English competitors on the ocean
! 1t came to navy leagues and trade as
/ sociations, to agitations for war at the
! drop OF the hat and to demands for
new territory at the expense Of other
peoples. The rule of might was as
natural to them as It will become 10
us If our militarist campaign succeeds
Human nature under German skin