The Washington times., 1923-04-06
]. s. IS WARNED.
Of PACF|S
AND REDS
Weeks Tells People to Beware
Lest They Join Enemies
Of Republic"
By HARRY l.. ROGERS,
Internal onaI News Service.

states secretary OF war weeks
today branded certain statements
by the National Council for the
Prevention of War as "a carefully
conceived effort to deceive" and
warned Americans not to support
such movements lest they align
themselves with the enemies Of
he Republic.
False Statement Circulated.
Calling attention to 1.-The wide.
spread circulation recently given
incorrect and. misleading statistics
on the costs OF military defense and
their relation to the total annual
budget, the Secretary declared u
had now become necessary to call
public attention to the facts ii
Those responsible for these state
ments, he said, '.iaclude those forces
in America who are preaching revo'
luton and the establishment of q
Icommunistic government, and also
those who seem to believe that any
army or navy is unnecessary"
'Unfortunately,' the Secretary
continued, these elements, who are
very small minority of our people.
are supported by considerable bodies
Of patriotic citizens, men and women
who, lacking, knowledge and infor.
nation OF the true situation and
apparently unwilling TO be governed
by the experiences OF the past, are
lending themselves to reduce IL not
destroy the military safeguards Of
the nation"
Typical. OF the material used II
this dangerous campaign" Weeks
said, is the following statement
which appeared in a recent bulletin
OF IAN organization calling Itself
the National Council for the Pre-
Nention of War" which has 1T
headquarters in Washington.
The officially prepared chart in
closed shows that we are allowing
one-fifth of our budget for 1924 FOL
the army and navy. More than 81
per cent Of that budget will go fol
past and future wars"
This chart, which the council puts
forward as official, Weeks said, In
reality was prepared by the organi
zation's own bureau Of efficiency
from the budget report submitted
to Congress by President Harding
The truth is, Weeks declared
that the budget report shows under
the heading of military functions
not IS per cent but 32,7 per cent
of which only 1876 per cent will b.
expended on national defense, tho
remaining 1872 per. cent being re
| quired for military pensions, retire
meYlt pay, life insurance, etc.
The War Department, moreover
L 60 al
funds in large amounts for non
military purposes. such as the
rivers and harbors work, for which
last year the appropriation was
$42,S16 ,661, and the Panama canal
the appropriation for which was
$4.114,434.
$20O, 900, 900 In Pensions.
I'VE have thus the Budgets
graphic statement" Weeks con
tinued. that only 1916 per cent OF
the national budget is for purely
national defensive purposes, and
that military pensions aggregating
more than 5000, 900 a year, the
tremendous disbursements of the
Veterans Bureau, and the payment
Of retirement pay bring the total
expenditures for military purposes
up to 1927 per cent as against the
1873 per cent set forth in the chart
circulated by the pacifist organiza.
ton have named. Under the
circumstances, the latter chart must
be considered as carefully con.
ceived effort to deceive"
AS matter Of fact, the War
Secretary declared, proportionately
less Of the annual budget is being
expended now for national defense
than in 1915, the percentage for
that year being 24.S Of all appropri.
atoms. as compared with 1876 per
cent for 1924.
1T Is important" Weeks contin-
ued, that the pacifists erect the
figure Of 1873 as a means of propa-
ganda only. When they come to
urging their views on Congress they
concentrate their entire effort on
the purpose represented by the fig
ure 1876 per cent for national de-
Tense. Never do they suggest means
for reducing the public debt charges
or the Pension and Veterans blu.
reau expenditures. All they seek
to eliminate is the relatively small
expenditure for military defense of
the country.
Seek to Deceive Public.
Including the public debt pay
ments in the classification of mill
tary expenditures, as In the mislead-
ing chart, appears to have been
done with the intent to deceive the
public. 1t is in the same dishonest
category as charging up to the army
the civilian work which 1t is obliged
to perform under acts of Congress.
"One may even question the
propriety Of including the cost OF
the operations Of the Pension Blu
reau and the Veterans Bureau In
the list of military expenditures
Those prodigious costs are 10 a
large extent the direct result OF ouI
unpreparedness. which was due tc
pacifist propaganda in the past
and 1t 10 not of record that any
organization advocates the repea,
OF the pension system or provi
sions for the veterans OF the last
war as now provided by law"
Federal, State and municipal ex
penditures considered, Weeks said
about ~ cents of every dollar ia
spent for the upkeep If tn. mill
tary establishment, and less toan
six cents for the army and navy
| combined, and the per capita Cost
$2.34. 8
I'm other words" he continued
the amount spent for national de
Tense IL 30 small part of the total
expenditures that abolishinR the
army and navy could result in ne
apprecia BILE reduction in the cost