Evening star., 1932-02-23

Senators Frederick Hale Qeft) and
| the National Radio Forum.
nothing of their trained reserves and
the forces of their dependencies. The
Italians have a population and stand
french. Even the Germans. who are
supposed to be disarmed by the Yer
sailleS treaty, who have a population
about half as big as ours, have stand
ing army over 100000, as compared to
our 1872, 900 Surely no sane person can
call us militaristic if he knows those
| facts.
Let us state it in another way that
makes it even more vivid In America
one person out of every 900 is in our
standing Army, in Germany-"dis-
armed" as she is--one person in 600, in
Great Britain one person in 200, in
France and Italy one person out of los,
in Japan one person in 800, in Russia
one out Of 250.'
Praises Army Efficiency.
And I want to say here that the
Army, although smaller, was never
more efficient in peacetime than it is
now; I am proud to testify to its
quality and its thorough effectiveness.
I wish only that it we're somewhat
larger.
But, says someone, we are very hard
up these days, and we can't afford to
keep even an Army so small as ours is.
I grant you that we're hard up, and
that It's vital that We get our budget
balanced as soon as possible. But beg
you to believe that we're bending every
effort tn -IIvr hot on tho
minimum of expense. l am sure that
you will be surprised to know that we
are spending on the Army these days q
smaller percentage of the National Gov
ernment's outlay than at any time in
half a century. For instance, in 1882
more than 10 per cent Of all that the
Federal Government spent was spent on
the Army. Twenty-Five years later, in
1907, we were spending about II per
cent of our total outlay on our Army.
But now, although the quality Of our
Army is immensely improved, and al
though the pay of both officers and men
is much higher, our Army expenditures
are only about 6l2 per cent of the total
expenditures of the Federal Govern
ment.
1t has been possible to reduce our
Army expenditures to this level because
Of the policy we have followed in our
colonial administration, in substituting
civilian government for military govern
ment as rapidly as circumstances per-
nit, and because, back of the standing
Army, we have the skeleton of a Ma
tional Army. built up through the Ma
tional Guard, the Reserve Corps and
the citizens training camps, which I'M
der modern conditions must remain the
chief reliance of democracies in time
of war If it were not for this whole
some system of civilian training, the
cost Of which is relatively small as COM
pared with our total military eXpendi-
lures, it would be necessary to maintain
a much larger Regular Army as a pre-
caution against attack.
Believes ALI Want Peace.
We all hope that the United States
never again will be called upon to go
to war with another nation. We all
have, I am sure, a sincere desire for
peace. Yet no one with even a su-
perfcial knowledge of history, or with
an understanding of human nature or
who has watched the course of events
in recent years, can be certain that it
will not be necessary.
The ideas and necessities Of men
differ. Racial rivalrieS persist in spite
of everything we can do or say. And
so long as men can hurl a stone or
lift club they will fight If there is
will or need to fight.
Wars were fought before the world
knew Of artillery or airplanes They
we're fought when the only weapons
were made of wood or stone. They
have continued ever since and we have
seen that they cannot be prevented by
treaties or agreements.
And so I say that an army-a small
army-is as necessary as a fire depart
ment. Would you disband your fire de-
partment while fire spread and
sparks we're flying everywhere? Would
you reduce your Army at time like
this, when no man can say that the
war in Asia will not spread farther?
We once thought that war in Europe
could not touch us, and when it did
touch us it found us unprepared. We
must not make that mistake again.
Defends Use of Gas.
There is one fallacy against which
want to protest very earnestly, and
that is the idea that some people have
that war can be prevented, or at least
ameliorated, by abolishing particular
weapons. Thus, for example, we see
| efforts made by well meaning people
| W dDO41SIl Illc u6G VI GAS III WdIldIc.
The plain truth is that gas is the most
| humane weapon that we have, because
smaller percentage of gas casualties
die than of any other sort of casualty
that We have. The bayonet, or the
| bullet, or the she'll are far more deadly
than the gases now in use in any army.
| Suppose for the sake of illustration that
We could abolish every firearm, large
and small, we still would not have i'm
proved the situation. Probably no more
dreadful battles have been fought In
history than those fought by the Roman
| Legions, armed only with huge swords
and spears.
! What an object lesson China is CIV
ing us today! How much she needs
an effective air force and an effective
navyI Without the firing of single
shot, her adversary has control Of the
water and of the air. and in conse-
uuence China's land armies are fighting
under a frightful handicap. She L
discovering that the cost OF defeat Is
far greater than the cost Of prepared
ness. The probability is that China
would not be forced to fight today Il
she had made adequate preparation II
advance.
No one in this land can so ardently
desire peace as those who have expert
enced war in the service of their coun-
try and 7 know that I speak for the
| ns.o~;cop Taoion as a whole when