Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-05
Misplaced Economy.

When a man is compelled to under
take retrenchment in his personal bud
get the last thing he cuts down on is
his insurance, be it life. fire or burglary
insurance. The same thing applies. or
should apply, to nation. A nations
insurance against destruction or dam
age is its defense establishment. That
protection should not be curtailed. any
more than an individual reduces his
insurance. except as a desperate last
financial resort.
Representative Wood Republican OF
Indiana, chairman Of the House Ap-
preparations Committee. in an appeal
for economies in governmental expendi-
ture, suggests that the place to make
them is in the Army and Navy. mo
wars are on now and no war is in
sight" he says in support of his plea
IL Is poor argument. Mr.. Wood might
as well propose that, as conflagrations
are rare nowadays, American towns
and cities could, with profit. abolish
their fire departments, or at least scrap
most Of the expensive apparatus main
tanned for emergency purposes.
Happily. the world has marched far
enough since the armistice of 1918 to
reduce the probability of another devas-
tating international conflict to the
minimum. But neither Leagues nor
Locarnos, pacts nor parleys, moratori-
ums nor memorials give. or can give,
mankind a cast-iron assurance that
Mars has definitely abdicated the
throne from which. throughout the
ages. he has periodically and suddenly
decreed the arbitrament of war.
President Hoover has just proclaimed
national commemoration of the sur
render at yorktown on October 10. He
calls upon the American people to cele-
brate the end Of the heyoic struggle
OF our forefathers for political freedom
and the ideals of liberty upon which
our institutions are founded" Without
any superpatriotic exaggeration. the
simple truth is that Uncle Sam spends
$500, 100000 year, more or less, on ma
tional defense for perpetuation of the
liberty won at Yorktown and the pres
ervation of the institutions which polit-
ical freedom guarantees. Yorktown
year would be grotesquely incongruous
moment for the United States to tinker
and tamper with its Army and Navy
The sentiments which will resound
throughout the Union next month, in
recollection Of the gallant CORVALLIS
capitulation. and those which will echo
across the continent in next years
George Washington Bicentennial Cele-
brations. will be words of hollow mock
cry If uttered at a time when Congress.
in penny-wise, pound-foolish spaSm, is
engaged in reducing the Republics de-
lenses.
There is one immediate and practi-
cal objection to Representative Woods
designs on national defense. 1t is aptly
put by brother Republican, Repre-
sentative Andrew of Massachusetts,.
Mr.. Andrew comes from the historic
maritime district of Gloucester. He Is
also member of the House Naval At
fairs Committee. "One of the most fu-
tile and foolish things we do on the
eve Of every International Conference
for Reduction Of Armament" says Mr.
Andrew, "is to weaken our position by
cutting down our defense program in
advance Of the conference. We did it
before the Washington Conference of
1921 and we did 1t before the London
Conference of 1890 1t Is inconceivable
that we should repeat this procedure on
the eve Of the Geneva Conference. We
are not more hard pressed financially
than every other country and are not
obliged to sacrifice our own interests in
the way Mr. Wood proposes"
1t is painfully certain that the United
States is going to Geneva with its
Wanted treaty Navy" In fact non
treaty Navy. If such chimerical eco:1o-
mics as Representative Wood advocates
are enacted by Congress in the mean
time, the bargaining power of the
American delegation, already sufficient
~ weak, will be still more crippled.