New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-08-11

accomplished speedily and thoroughly
anu with very little loss, the respon
slblllty rests on those who prevented
the preparation in advance. If we had
bullt quantities of ships and trained
large numbers of men in advance, the
World War would have ended almost
as soon as we entered, and an infinite
amount of bloodshed would have been
prevented.
The best roll of our army overseas
IS the American roll Of honor. These
the safety of this nation in the present
and the future. They have died, and
by their death have earned for the rest
OF us the right to hold our heads high
with pride. But it is no less true that
their blood has been shed, and their
gallant lives have been spent because
we did not prepare in advance. We
aid not prepare because our people
were misled. For this misleading Of
the people the professional protiteers
share the responsibility with the pro-
Germans, with sham sentimentalists,
with the sordid, shortsighted material
lists and with all the politicians. pub
llclsts and private citizens. rich or poor,
whose vanity or folly Or self-interest
profited thereby, We ought not to re-
member this in any spirit Of revenge,
but most certainly, unless we are worse
than foolish. We shall remember it and
other warnings. to teach us how to be-
have in the future. and as a very stern
warning against again trusting to the
Leadership of the men thus responsible
for the deaths Of so many fine and fear
less young Americans.
Most of the men who are misled
and some of the men who misled them,
have come frankly forward to admit
their error. What is even more impor-
tant, most of them have made the real
atonement Of deeds. They have. if
young, themselves gone into the army,
and, if not young, have sent their sons
or permitted them to go into the army
All these men are paying their share
of the joint payment in blood of the
nation. They are to be heartily re-
spected. They arc not seeking to profit
by the valor and blood of others.
so much for the men who pay; now
for the men who profit. Some of these
men profit in money. If such profit is
excessive, it is iniqutous.
But proper money profit is abso-
lutely necessary for no business can
be permanent without profit any more
than working man can permanently
work without wages. The unpardon-
able prOnt is that OF the man, especial l.
ly the rich man, who, having preach ed
pacifsm and unpreparedness now when
war comes, sees brave men face a death
which pacifism and unpreparedne ss
have made infinitely more probable
while he himself and his sons profit
by these other mems courage, and sit
at home in the ease and safety secured
by the fact that these others face
DEATH
"The worst profiteers in the country
are the men and the sons of the men
who decline to face death which their
own actions have made more probable
for others. Unless in exceptional cases,
there is no need to discuss individuals
in private life, but when man seeks
public Office it becomes a duty to dis
cuss his record.
"Mr. Henry Ford is candidate for
United States Senator in Michigan No
man in this country strove harder in
the cause of pacifsm and unprcpared-
ness than he did during the vital two
years and a half before this country
went to war. He received the cordial
applause Of the peace at-any-price peo-