The Washington times., 1921-11-20
BY G. Bernard Shaw.

CopyraghS, 1871. ~ Cnivorsal Ssrvicss
DISARMAMENT
After you, sir!
Disarmament is such a popular
cry when, the cease fire having
sounded, the period Of glory is
succeeded by the period Of paying
for 1t that the United States Gov
ernment. greatly to it's credit, has
asked the public to stop that nom
sense and make up its mind to
expect nothing more than q hmita-
ton of armamsnts.
Yet see in every newspaper the
heading Disarmament Conference,
and In all the editorial columns the
old pieties about peace and good
win and beating machine guns into
plowshares and 50 forth. People
find their pieties necessary to their
souls.
Treble Your Armament.
Before the war. when / met the
disarmament agitation by saying
Don't disarm: treble your arma-
ment: You may need It presently"
people said: There you 80 again.
contradictins everyone! Standing
on your head. as usual"
In November, 1914. when, in my
Common Sense About the war"
that intolershle document which
aftcrward turned out to be 70 ex-
asperatingiy tight IN every detail.
I said: "After this. nobody is go
ing to disarm." /" the very people who
were then clamorins very wisely for
above all. more shelis." looked
sourly at me, an II they would say.
why can't you hold your silly
tongue?"
Arming 10 one of the things you
should do without saying anything
about 1t; and II you ask q gentle
man why he has a magazine rifle
slung across his back and q Lewis
under his arm. he feels bound to
answer cheerfully: '.Oh. I thought
might put up a covey of partridges
in Jones field; and it's always well
to be prepared"
All Wars Unthinkable.
When Bismarck said that balance
OF power questions have to be set
tied. not by an interchange of Christ
mas texts. but by blood and iron. he
was stating the simplest and most
obvious Of facts; but he made a
very unpleasant impression. which
the rest Of us avoided by declaring
that war with Germany was un.
thinkable.
This was quite true: all wars are
unthinkable: but they occur, never
theless. The moment they become
thinkable. we shall begin to think
about them; and then they will not
happen.
Therefore, the announcement that
war between the United States
and the British empire h unthink.
able Is 30 alarming that I am doing
my best to rescue II from that dan
gerous category; for II certainly will
not bear thinking about. though IL
viii bear ten Washington confer
ances quito easily.
The notion that disarmament can
put . stop to war is contradicted
by the nearest dog fight. The
story of Cain and Abel has been
questioned by many Ingcrsollians,
but never on tn, ground that Cain
had no armament. Nelson never
raw an armor plate nor Napoleon
q magazine rifle; but they 20.
through a good deal Of fighting
without them. II Mr.. Dempsey
were carrying q cane and was At
tackled by a rash bystander, he
would promptly throw away the
cane and defend himself with his
fists. 1t 10 the man who fights,
not the weapon. Also the woman.
Fighting Scientifically.
That elementary point being
settled, we may now como to tho
question 1t suggests, which Is:
Does disarmament then matterf
II men are determined to fight, had
they better not do It scientifically.
with poison gas. than batter and
tear one another to death like
wild beasts7 There Is nothing so
horrible to SEQ ~ a fight between
mon who do not know how to
fight and this II ~ true Of sav-