The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-01-21
Do Your Shooting First, Is
ROOseveIt's Advice to u. s.
America Boasts Too Much,
Rough Rider Says.
'BROOMSTICK PREPAREDNESS
We Are in as Bad Shape as in
the Spanish War.
Regular Army Has Had No In
tenSive Training.


pacifism, broomstick preparedness and
complicated red tape systems OF ad-
miBistration, that he charged are
perilous, were held up to ridicule here
by Colonel Roosevelt in speech at a
luncheon given by the National Sc
curity league.
Spanish-American war records, at
tested to by the colonel himself, were
dug out of the archives of the past
and compared with the greater task
that confronts the nation now.
when I was governor of New ork
in 1893 1 described the Santiago cam
paign and some of the sentences I
used would apply just as accurately
today.
II stated that our artillery was
worthless and 1 said that the bureaus
at Washington were enmeshed in red
tape.
- 'I said that the Santiago campaign
was a weller of confusion. 1t was. L
stated that we were saved from dls-
aster by the incompetency OF our roe
and that to go against a we'll led, well
trained. well handled foe under such
conditions would have meant ruin
Allies Our Guard.
He said the United States is safe
today not because of any competence
within it. but because of the com
potency of our friends across the seas
Colonel Roosevelt reviewed the
no thoro intensive training TO prepare
IL for work in Europe and said that
he had begged congress to make pre-
psirations. He took a shot at Bryan
when he said:
No Cannons Yet.
I'VE all remember a very eXcellent
and amiable man who told US IN the
event of war, "a million men would
spring to arms between sunrise ana
suLset They have been spring'ng Tor
twelve months now and they have to
spring hard to reach rifles.
And they haven't got any cannons
to spring to yet
could see parading regiments of draft
ed soldiers, he said, sarcastically:
at woulo be everything for them
and everything for the city to have
that done and. gentlemen, as we nave
now slowly emerged from our first
stage of broomstick rifle preparedness.
we can have the infantry regiments
parade armed.
81 don't know quite the brand of
rifles they have, but they have got
some rifles. 1 won't ask you that the
artillery regiments parade with their
guns, because we are still in the tele-
graphic stage of cannon in artillery
preparedness"
The former president charged that
We had no military policy until hos
tilities practically walked in at the
door. He went back to the days of
the Spanish American war and pic
tured conditions then for his audi
ence.
less exclusive war than the present
war" he said. land it was accurately
DESCRIBED by that profound humorist
and philosCphe Mr.. Dooley, when he
said, we wore in a dream. but the
Sranidrds were in trance
1T is a cruel thing" he continued.
from the national standpoint-it is a
wicked thing that we should go into
the war and then expect the allies to
whose help we have nominally come.
TO do all the fighting and take all the
punishment away from u.s.
Applause greeted him when he re-
ferred to the sacrifices France had
made, but he silenced the cheers with
appraised hand and said
81. "ShoOt the Way You Shout"
sat is we'll to applaud her, well to
shout for her, but shoot the way you
shout.
I'VE are eternally dishonored in
this country if we accept any peace
except peace of overwhelming victory
And the fault will be just as much
ours if we hang back and do nothing
so that the allies have to make peace
with Germany, as if we took the lead
IN making an inconclusive and ne
gotiated peace.
shame will be our portion unless
we make our strength effectively and
decisively felt in the war Don't be
rnisled by the fact that the allies speak
wen of us. They can't afford to dc
anything else just at present They
are bound to see how great we are
especially when we are assuring then
of it ourselves. Rest assured that il
we have not made our strength fel
thru our fighting men, when this wal
ends we shall have earned the deri
sion of friend and foe alike.
I'VE have been almost twelve
months at war instead of ten. w,
drifted stern foremost into war anC
then, after we had gotten in, we be
gan to get ready to begin to prepare
Vow let us stop that as nationa
policy. Let us inaugurate now tn,
policy of permanent preparedness ant
DO it the only way you can do it, anc
that is not as a basis of letting George
do IT."