Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1927-01-27
Opinions of Others
FOR BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
editor ASkov Americana:

mended for publishing Editor Cra-
vens' article from the Mile Laos
County Times as well as Editor Peter
sens reply to it. By fair presen-
tation of both sides the view best
backed by reason will prevail. / am
for such debate, debate not for it's own
sake but for a sincere concern in the
issue involved.
Editor Cravens defends the Nation
al Guard and says: eff this country
is to have any degree of preparedness
for the eventualities of war, the ma
tional guard, our trained citizen SOL
diery, is the best and cheapest plan
for making large force available
at the minimum of cost. .......
There is nothing that would be
more pleasing to the enemies of the
United States abroad. ........ than
to have this nation become a soft
easy going, cowardly and defense
less nation, with it's land and
wealth exposed to those who would
have the power to come and take it,
There is no insurance against war,
against aggression by our enemies,
and to place ourselves in a helpless
and defenseless condition while all
the rest of the world is watching for
an opportunity to strike would be the
height of folly I
Several questions at once present
themselves: Who has power to come
and take it,? Why is there mo in
surance against war;? Is our po-
sition so bad that call the rest of the
world is watching for an opportunity
to strike? Editor Cravens has made
rather too sweeping assertions.
Evidently, Editor Cravens thinks
that land and wealth are more ,valu-
able than human lives. Not once does
he mention the lives we might lose
in war, but does mention the land
and wealth. My concern is not for
our land and our wealth; it is for our
human lives, and l presume to make
this statement--that no national
guard OR other military-tactics train
ed citizenry is going to save lives in
the next war.
AS Editor Petersen said, the next
war will be fought in the air. Planes
and gas will be the weapons of Of
Tense and defense. Actual combat
ants to direct these weapons will be
limited to a comparatively small
number of highly trained technical
experts. If the fatalities could be
CORRESPONDENCE limited in number
we might rejoice at the greater hui
manity of war, but the whole of any
warning nation will be a mo mans
land" in the next war. We in the
middle west will be most safe, but
even we cannot be certain. Planes
have flown across the Atlantic and
across our country without a stop.
The large dirigibles can travel high
and for long distances carrying i'm
mense quantities of explosives and
gas. While the controlling combat
ants will be few the fatalities will
be among all the people. Think what
this means!
Those of us who have not been in
the horrors of actual fighting do not
experience the shock of it, we can
but dimly realize the horrors of mutt
lated flesh and physical agony. But
we can learn from those who have
fought; read detailed descriptions of
war suffering; see pictorial evidence
of the mutlation of what once were
men. That is enough to convince us
of the misery any one may have to
suffer next time. No life will be
safe-war will be war indeed! Such
brutality is the height of folly.
The significance of the national
guard dwindles, as does the import
ance of any military-tactics trained
citizenry in such a war. The tech
nical training required to be of real
service for such a combat cannot be
acquired in days or weeks, but in
months and years. 1t is true that
every man, woman, and child will
be a participant; training for war
will, in a sense, be universal, but that
is not inconsistent with my previous
statement The actual fighting COM
batants will be few; we will all be
participants. If we are going to take
this war business" seriously, then
all of us will have to spend some time
in learning about gas masks, how
they work, how they are made, etc.
Military tactics will be relatively I'M
important.
Editor Cravens does not want us to
become "easy-going, cowardly and de-
fenseless". Neither do 1. But again
he stresses what seems of lesser i'm
portance. We need wisdom as well
as industry, courage and security. /
humbly submit that / cannot see the
wisdom of war.
In the last war our soldiers made
the greatest sacrifces-all honor to
them!-but not one of us who did not
do our bit in one way or another