The Coconino sun., 1918-01-04
THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ENTERTAINERS.

The neglect of preparation for war goes back farther than any conflict of responsibility on which the state ments of either General Crozier or Secretary Baker can throw much light It goes back to state of mind in the White House which was as- curately indicated in these remarks in the message of President Wood row Wilson to the Congress on De- cember 8, 1914, four months after the world war begun:
 "It is said in some quarters that we are not prepared for war. What is meant by being prepared? Is it meant that we are not ready upon brief notice to put nation in the field, a nation of men trained to arms ? Of course we are not ready to do that; and we never shall be so long as we retain our present political principles and institutions. And what is it that it is suggested that we should be prepared to do? To defend ourselves against attack? We have always found means to do that and shall find them whenever necessary without calling our people away from their necessary tasks to render com pulsory military service in time of peace.
 "We are at peace with all the world No one who speaks counsel based or fact or drawn from a just and candid interpretation of realities can say that there is reason to fear that from any quarter our independence or the integ' rity of our territory is threatened Dread of the power of any other na tion we are incapable of.
 "The subject is not new. There i! no new need to discuss it. We shal not alter our attitude toward it be cause some among us are nervou! and excited.
 "Let there be no misconception The country has been misinformed We have not been negligent of na tional defense. We have not been un mindful of the great responsibilities resting upon us."
 This state of mind lasted long af ter the date specified above. It last ed long and operated disastrously We are not bringing up the old, un deniable, unacceptable fact for the pur pose of criticising President Wilson or representing him. He thought ht was right, but he was wrong. Many patriotic Americans knew he wa! wrong at the very time when ht thought himself right. Theador' Roosevelt knew the President wal wrong, and was accused of partisan politics and personal ambition for say ing so plainly. Leonard Wood knew it, and did what he could to prevent the dire consequences of the mistake Lindley M. Garrison, in Mir. Wilson's own cabinet, knew his chief wa: wrong, and Newton D. Baker, whc did not know it then, but knows t now, sits in Garrison's place.
 It is profitless to speculate about what might have resulted from ar earlier perception in the highest quar ters at Washington of that which il now clearly perceived in every quar- ter. The main fact for national con gratulations is that when the grea light came to the country, when tht delusion of security that evaded anC postponed and procrastinated so long had given place to a universal recog milton of the urgent, immediate neec of preparations for war and to mos energetic measures of preparedness the Presidents own eyes were no blind or his head and hands idle.
 The country had not been misin formed. We HAD been negligent O national defense. And it is to MT Wilson's everlasting credit that what ever may have been his ideas on tn subject in December of 1914, he i foremost three years later, in tn practical if belated effort to mak preparedness complete.-N. Y. Sun.