Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-06-21

\ That preparedness is really an insur-
| ance against war and not an invitation
to war, was the statement Friday eve
ming at the regular meeting Of the Au-
| gusta Rotary Club Of Col. Sherman
Shumway Of Skowhegan, the speaker
of the evening. Col. Shumway deplored
1 the pre=ent pacifist agitation, which he
declared is enrolling hundreds of wom-
| en- in organizations. in which they are
obliged to, and do take obligations de-
claring that they will not. assist the
United States in any manner in the
conduct Of any war.
| 'Pacifists today are the greatest men,
ace to the country" said the speaker.
| The real trouble is in the way they
| carry on their yEsfk. The ordinary or
| ganization which is of harm to the
| government at least comes ont in the
open so that we can tell what we have
! to fight, but with the pacifst 1t is diff
ferent."
He declared that they establish a
hold upon the women of the country by
false arguments. AS their first premise
they deplore the devastation and suf-
fering of war and then they declare
that If the people will take a stand
against war there will be no war.
Today military machine that would
indeed IL actually in the field In Eu-
rope. This is a French army of $780,
600. with an air force four times as
large as that Of England and with a
great building program. The speaker
said that in his opinion there never
was a better foundation for trouble in
Europe than today. With Great Bri-
tain practically pro-German, and with
france lined up with the Central Pow
ers. anything might happen.
he then gave comparative figures
OF the number Of men used by the
United States and its enemies in
every war since the Revolution and
showed that because of lack of pre-
paredness. the United States was
forced to hight a prolonged war, even
WIN much larger army than their
DETER prepared foe had in the field.
As an illustration of the sheer bril-
tally OF unpreparedness, he cited an
instance which came to his attention
In the last war. The battalion with
which he was connected was in a
support position. Here they received
80 requirements to the company.
When these thirty-five requirements
arrived there were among their num-
Der men who had never seen a gas
mask or grenade. and men who could
not load a military rifle and had
never fired one. These men came to
them five days before they went to
the front line trenches and in that
time they were drilled from seven in
the morning until darh so that they
might be taught the fundamentals of
war which they should have known
before they left the United States.
And even then, when they entered
the front line trenches they had never
fired a military rifle although they
had been taught the theory Of rifle
shooting.
The requirements In another bat
TALON were in much harder posi-
ton. They were received at mid
night and at one o'clock the Germans
started an attack that lasted for sew
eral hours. These men were distrib-
uted in the companies as we'll as pos
sible. They had rifles but did not
know how to load them. It Is an
easy matter to do with a little prac-
tice but to a green man with no prac-
tice and IN his first engagement it