Willmar tribune., 1919-09-24
OBSER. S.
42-MlLtTARisM

" carry Out Lue1I program anu we are
face to face with the issue. Sen
Chamberlain .,l(Dem.)- OF Oregon, has
presented the bill in the Senate, while
Julius Kahn (Rep.) from California
has introduced the measure In the
House of Representatives. Thus it
is made sort of bi.party program that
all the militarists In both old parties
can get behind and push along The
bill as drawn and drafted is an elabor-
ate document intended to cover all
our warlike activities of the nation
1t provides for a standing army Of
half million men and an annual
expenditure of around a billion dollars,
or about eight times as great as our
military expenses prior to the war
with Germany. The bill contemplates
the appointment of no less than six
Lieutenant Generals; thirty-two Ma
jor Generals; eighty-eight Brigadier
Generals, and no end of Colonels and
lesser officers all to command the.
army in time of peace and incidentally
draw fat salaries from the national
treasury. A provision is made for uni
versal compulsory military: training
in any army camp of all boys of 10
to be followed by two years in the
heSefEe corps.
1t is scarcely credible that anyone
could be found who in the light of
what has just happened. would have
the nerve to introduce such measure
in the American congress; but such
bill has not only been prepared and
presented, but it is said to be backed
up by all our professional soldiers and
the Secretary OF War, and has enlist
cd oaf 80
| the big vested interests and including
practically all the newspapers that
belong to the kept press" A few of
| these editors may gag when they read
the bill, but it is foreordained that
they will come across" at the prop
er moment
The people must awake to the fact
that a most gigantic conspiracy has
been entered into to fasten the Prus-
! sian military system upon the United
States of America. In the face of
| what forty years Of this policy has
brought upon the world, and especial
ly upon all the people of Germany, it
would seem that everybody would be
| sick of war and preparation for war
but such is not the case. The love
| of peace is not universal. In every
country there is class that profit out
of war. The army officials see great
chances for honor and promotion while
the speculative class and the profit
GERS can visualize big profits If am
not mistaken, a most determined and
persistent effort to put over" this
military program will be made and
unless the masses are vigilant and ac-
tive, it will be crowned with success
Every argument that can be devised
will be conjured up, the fears Of the
people worked on and every expedient
that the German war lords so success
fully used will be resorted to- There
is '"big money" back of this movement
for certain beneficiaries and they will
not hesitate to pour it and the coin
like water to further their schemes.
The hope of defeating this most nox-
ious measure lies in the Senate. It
will be "held up" in that body by able
and fearless senators like Copper of
Kansas, until the American people
can pass judgment upon it, and given
ample to voice their protests. Copper
will have powerful support, especially
from the middle west. Cummins and
Kenyon of Iowa are both against it,
along with Norris of Nebraska. In.
deed it is reported that uncle "Knute"
Nelson Of this state will have nothing
to do with the measure and has al
ready turned down it's advocates who
sought to enlist his support. This is
good news, if true, and we hope it is
Senator Nelson was volunteer be-
lieve, mere private in the Civil war,
or as it is now officially called, "The
super abounding love for militarism
or military display. Even Senator
Kellog is non committal and is likely
to live up against the bill when he
hears from the folks at home
l have we'll grounded suspicion
that the injection of this military is.
sue into the politics of the country
at this time, is not. unwelcome to the
big packers and the railway magnates
In the very nature of things only one
big issue can be dominant at a time
II the military question were not rails
ed, 1t is morally certain that the mat
ter of the high cost OF living, the con.
troll of food hOarders and the govern
ment ownership and operation of the
railroads, could not be kept in the
background in the coming presiden-
tial campaign. They may not any
way, but this new issue will have q
tendency to confuse the voters. This
opposition to militarism will cause
Senators Copper to loom up as presi.
Dental possibility; and If Gov. Frazier
of North Dakota should drop out or
fail to enter the race in earnest, then
Copper would stand fine show of get
ting to the front as the progressive
candidate. Being in favor of practi.
cally all the measures for which the
Nonpartisan League stands, he would
easily come in as second choice. next
to Frazier.
If both the old political parties "fall''
for this military program, and that is
not improbable, for the arch, schemers
in this movement are laying their
plans with this end in view and sys.
tematically working to bring it about
then the peace lovers will have a
golden opportunity to get together in
new organization having the interest
of the common people and the good
of the whole country at heart. Person
ally, l would welcome such a custom
for then we would have the enemy di
vinded into two hostile camps while
the friends of good government and
the advocates of~universal peace both
in the North and South, would be unit
ed, and in that event would certainly
sweep into power.
Party names have long since ceas
ed to have very much meaning with
one, just as they have with the great
body of enlightened citizenship A
J. Reactionary is Reactionary, no mat
ter what he may call himself, and the
same is true Of penuina nrnprassivo