South Bend news-times., 1922-07-30
ZERO HOUR ISSET
FOR j. S. DRIVE TO
INCREASE DEFENSE
Citizens Need Enlightenment
Regarding Menacing DAN
gers, Sec'y Weeks Ayers.

ready set, the American Army iS pre-
pairing TO go over the top.
There has been TO declaration OF
war by Congress. but the Harding
administration has approved the
campaign the war department has
embarked upon, and Sec'y Weeks is
determined 10 carry on" TIL the
enemy hoists the white flag OF de
feat
Casualties there may be N this
newest war. but fatalities are unlike
.y. for the attackers viii employ no,
rifles nor machine guns, but pub
licity. not shrapnel nor high ex-
plosives, but facts.
The opening guns already have
been fired. Aanalysis Of recent ad-
dresses by Sect Weeks. Asst Sec-y
Wainwright. Gen. Pershing and
other administrative officials closely
Identified with the military branches
Of the government. leave no doub,
as 10 their conviction that grave
dangers menace our Institutions.
Their utterances indicate unmistak-
ably they have seen the necessity Of
placing the problem OF military pre-
paredness frankly before the peo-
pie in a new and more comprehen-
sIve light than ever before has been
attempted In time of peace.
Unrest Threatens Government.
IN the unrest following the war
Sec'y Weeks and Gen. Pershing see
what they believe TO be a danger
not TO the army alone, but TO Ameri-
can governmental institutions gen.
orally, and Secy Wainwright In his
NOSE recent public utterances Is even
more out-spoken.
I'm come ways these times are as
critical for the future OF our re-
public as those of 1917 and 1918"
he declared, speaking for the ad-
ministration. I'VE have our enemies,
although they do not wear a distinc-
tive uniform. They attack from
within instead of without"
Innumerable "isms" have sprung
up throughout the country since the
great war, Wainwright believes.
which have as an objective the de-
struction of Americanism. ito which
We owe all that we possess as a
nation"
Groups of peoples and classes
are organizing for every kind or
purpose except a patriotic and na-
tional one" he continued. 'Insidl
Gus propaganda is being directed
against all the fundamentals Of our
government. The most pernicious
of all are those who are striving to
substitute internationalism for pa-I
tionalism They would destroy from
within what no enemy has ever been
able TO do from withOut-our ideals
of government, constitution, institu-
tions, liberties and leadership in the
world.
Pacifists Declared Dangerous.
The pacifists, who are sieltn
during the war and missing from
the ranks of our defenders, would
destroy our instruments Of defense
the army and navy-and render
us a weakling among the nations
without influence or prestige in the
worlds affairs. These internation-
alists and pacifists working to-
gether and in most instances the
duce our youths to foreswear al
legiance TO our flag and refuse to
defend It. If such are not enemies,
then who isl"
These views are in effect those
OF Sec'y Weeks, Gen. Pershing. and
in fact all those connected with the
national defense branch of the ad-
ministration. Feeling thus. these
,high officials have embarked upon
campaign of education in American
ism-that is, an explanation OF
American forms of government, the
dangers which menace them, and
the relation of the army and the
navy 10 American institutions.
They believe the public does not
realize the two military services
have a distinct place in American
political economy. and are attempt
ing a new type Of national pre-
paredness campaign designed to
educate the public TO such a realiza-
ton.
Says Publicity Is Necessary.
The process of arousing public
attention TO these purely public
questions is of necessity, Mr.
Weeks believes, a long one and the
year that will elapse before the size
OF the army again becomes a cur
rent political issue will no more than
suffice 10 lay the groundwork Of un-
derstanding.
Weeks and his assistants make
no secret of their feelings that
=
ment by congress this year have
seriously menaced the success Of
the military policy enacted by con-
gress in 1920. They do not believe
public sentiment demanded any
such reduction as was ordered.
The average voter, Weeks holds.
and even the average member OF
congress, cannot understand the
highly technical questions involved
in the peace-time organization OF
an army without special attention
20 the subject. The only men who
do know. for instance, what hap
pened in France from a technical
point Of view and why American
losses were heavy in one action and
comparatively light in another are
the army officers who have made
these matters their life study. II
was for this reason that Mr..
Weeks directed the ban on public
discussion of technical military
questions by Army officers be
raised and that the trained military
men be encouraged to explain to
the public what the army and the
war department is all about
The secretary now is carrying his
program a step further and himself
undertaking this public explanation
with the aid or the highest officers
OF the army, and looks upon this