The Washington times., 1920-12-06

says. Hates any man the thing he
would not kill?"
The dilemma is complete. Ii you
abstain from chemical warfare YOU
will be wiped out by some one who
attends 10 IL, and il you attend to II
your neighbors won't love you.
This being so, what reason Is there
to suppose that any European power
would lift its finger TO save the Brit
ish Empire from having its command
al sea broken by America?
All foreign offices in Europe would
only be too glad to see the British
! feet sent to the bottom OF the sea
and crushing indemnities imposed on
disarmed England
China might object to the balance
OF power shifting westward. Russia
might hesitate between the devil on
the west and the deep sea on the
east, but the rest of the world would
breathe more freely until IL realized
that the solid combination OF forty
eight States, all born equal and well
affected TO their federation, famous
for invention, enterprise and organi-
zation, and having u million adult
males per State at their disposal, Is
even a less reassuring sort Of neigh
Dor than little England with its pre-
cariously attached dominions and its
liercely disaffected subject nations.
America would succeed to the sin
iSter eminence Of the most hated
nation. Lloyd Georges program
of conquering a world in which even
the smallest independent states be-
come "fearfully dangerous" would
not be discarded.
II would be taken up by the United
States and civilization would have
Jared worse and gone no farther.
Meanwhile, the fact that England
is the only power that has an indis-
Greet professor does not mean that
she is the only power studying chem
ical warfare. All powers are study
ing it. And the capture of docu
ment written by militarist Sim
Feiner, who has apparently attended
militarist lectures in London, has
called attention TO the fact that fu-
ture warfare will be not only chem
ical but pathological.
The bacteriologist will vie with
the chemist in patriotism. The pros
pect is not cheerful for civilization
and il is abhorrent to humanity. But
the war offices have nothing to dc
with civilization or humanity. Their
business is military security.
Common sense tells US that secur-
ity is an impossible ideal, and the
sacrifice of liberty, prosperity and
honor in grasping at it Is the very
insanity of towards. But courage
and common sense are inadmissiblc
in military affairs.
The soldiers position l. so dan
gerous that he must not take any
risk that he can possibly avoid by
destruction. pestilence. depopulation,
devastation or any other available
means OF disabling his adversary,
and he must treat every ally as an
auxiliary who one day may become
all adversary. He must sternly dis
regard common sense, which tells
him that what his military logic has
achieved is reductio ad absurdum
and that the Kilkenny cat solution
Of international problems is no solu-
ljOI d. al.
The civilian, on the other hand,
has TO take risks every day and be
guided continually by common sense.
If he were to demand security at the
cost Of destroying everything and
enslaving everybody that could pos
sibly injure him, he would be locked
up as lunatic. Dogs who may bite
him are not shot. Invalids who may
infect him are not drowned in car
bolic acid. Automobiles which may
run over him are not baniShed from
the streets. Strangers who may as
sault and rob him are not hand
cuifed.
He must take his chance Of his
neighbors being neighborly just as
they have to take their chance with
him. Otherwise life would be unen-
durable and society impossible. Per-
feet security would be not only per-
fect slavery but perfect immobility-
that Is. catalepsy and death.
NATIONS MUST RUN
RISKS LIKE PEOPLE.
Security is rot whit less incom-
patible with domestic society than
with international civilization. Ma
tions, like individuals, must run risks
When Marshal Foch urges that the
security of France requires thai the
Germans must forever henceforlh
be muzzled and handcuffed and that
flight through the air and passage
under the sea must be a French mo-
nopoly, he is perfectly right from
military point Of view and perfectly
absurd from human point of view.
J do not know what general or ad-
miral has succeeded in persuading
the London cabinet that the whole
British people will be murdered in
their beds unless the Irish land all
other foreigners) are similarly man.
a.cled and inhibited, but whosoever
the gentleman may be, he is also
logical and he is also absurd.
IL the cabinet ministers persist In
such lunacy they would better be dis
placed and given some lob like
watching DiCtureu an tbn Na.,aust