The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1918-09-06
Try BLUE RIBBON" Cigar, 81
ROOSEVELT'S WAY OF
KEEPING THE PEACE

land on August a, printed the fol-
lowing editorial:
Theodore Roosevelt has published
an editorial in some of the after
noon papers in which he advocates
the immediate adoption of universal
military training. He says it is
necessary for the national defense
Evidently Mr.. Roosevelt stakes his
hopes on brute force to keep the
peace and not on any federalized
league of nations.
Should he run for president in
1920 we may expect it to be on
thoroughgoing militarist platform.
So the country may have it's choice
in that campaign between the prin-
ciple of brute force and the princi-
pie of intelligence. For it is fairly
certain that the candidate who op-
poses Mr.. Roosevelt in 1920 will
stand for the dominance of mind
over matter, just as Mr.. Roosevelt,
if he runs, will stand for the dom
nance of matter over mind.
Shall we use our brains to keep
the world at peace when this war
is over, or shall we depend on our
muscles alone? That seems likely to
be the issue. President Wilson does
not favor the adoption of universal
military training just yet. Secretary
Baker says we should wait and see
how the war turns out. If the Ger
mans defeat us we shall be obliged
to train all our young men as
| fighters for the sake of maintaining
our national existence. But if we
defeat the Germans and then con-
clude an intelligent peace there will
be no such necessity.
The Roosevelt school in our ma
tional politics looks upon militarism
as an ideal to be adored and perpet-
uated. Their opponents look upon
it as a terrible necessity. AS long
as we must fight let us do it with
all our might, but when we no
/ longer need to fight let US not keep
on worshipping the god of slaughter.
That is the teaching of those who
do not follow the Roosevelt leader
ship.
Taking everything into considera-
ton the chances seem bright for
| sort of Armageddon struggle in the
United States between militarism
and democracy. The forces are al
ready arraying themselves and the
trumpet is sounding its preliminary
blasts. People should make no mis-
take about the issue. Militarism
and democracy are not compatible
with one another. AS Lincoln said
of slavery and freedom, if one sur
wives the other must perish. This
is true of the United States and
of the whole world. We are sup
posed to be fighting just now to
extirpate militarism from the world.
1t seems odd that while we are doing
so, a militarist party should show
it's head and gain menacing pres
tige among us.
The uprising of a free nation to
defend its freedom is not militarism.
The determination of free people
to extirpate autocracy from the
world is not militarism. We have
armed our poung men for the clear
aim of freeing future generations
from the need of arming. We as
sumo for the moment the panoply
of war in order to Stay the war god.
But the Roosevelt school of polite
ians tell us that having assumed the
panoply we must wear it forever.
1t is the most impudently un-Ameri-
can doctrine ever injected into our
politics.
We need not go into the fray be-
tween militarism and democracy
blindly. History teens with in
struction upon the issue. We may
know exactly what militarism is,
what it does to the institutions of a
free people and how it keeps the
peace. All the ancient nations had
universal military training for every
body except their slaves. The slaves
were kept busy feeding the soldiers.
Feudal Europe had universal military
training. 1t was all the training
anybody got, except few prelates
who learned to read and write.
The American Indians when the
first whites discovered them had
universal military training in its