The Washington times., 1936-09-23

stark promise Edwin G. Hill
of an army Of eight million men.
Giant Russia has, probably, two
million men under arms, and a re-
serve of at least five million.
Germany is straining every
nerve and bringing herself to the
verge of bankruptcy to worship at
the bloodStained altar Of Mars.
France announces that she Is
doubling her army. In Germany
and Italy, we perceive the horrible
spectacle of mere children being
trained for the battlefield.
All Europe is shaken by the ir-
reconcilable conflict between COM
muniSm and faSciSm. France to-
day quiverS on the brink Of revo-
luton, and strikes are fomented
because the radical government
of the French republic will not
rush to the aid Of the tottering gov
ernment at Madrid.
All seems to have become hell
on earth, with bloody, pitiless re-
prisals by both sides, and no quar-
ter asked or given. Man tracks man
with intent to kill. Fratricidal
strife, the curse of the world since
Cain and Abel, grips the peninsula,
BITTER LESSON
And out of this Spanish night
mare, with Germany and Italy
itching to help the rebels, and
France and Russia openly Sympa'
thizing with the Communists and
anarchists in power in Spain, may
explode a war which would shake
the world to it's foundations. And
might, indeed, send Western civ
ilization crashing down and leave
Europe and her colonial posses
sionS at the mercy of an aroused
ambitious and predatory yellow
race.
It makes one think, I say, and
ponder our own situation and pur'
poses. We cannot be lamb when
the wolves are on the hunt.
One can only be thankful thai
our United States escaped involve
ment in the League Of Nations and
in the whole mess of international
rivalries and ambitions. The mer
who fought the League so hare
back in 1919 and 1920-Willian
E. Borah, Hiram johnson anC
the late Henry Cabot Lodge-haC
no quarrel with the ideals upor
which the League was founded
But they were statesmen, students
all of foreign affairs. They knew
human nature and they knew theil
Europe.
They fought successfully against
our entrance into the League, anc
for the specific reason that they
were convinced that eventually
as a member, we would be bitterly
humiliated or dragged into an
other war. We kept out of it, anC
well out of it, and time has provec
the wisdom of that course. Anc
we are not going to be dragged
into this Europe mess.
Nineteen years ago a tidal wavt
of patriotism was sweeping ovel
this country Of ours. It was mor(
than patriotism. It was made Ill
of that idealiSm which wells il
every American heart.
We had launched ourselves intt
the greatest war of all time, no
merely to put an end to an intoler
able series of proVocationS, no
merely to assist the triumph o
what we believe to be the right
but to end all war. We were il
the fight, ill-prepared as we wer'
to preserve democracy: to maxi
the world a better place to live in
to enlarge human rights every
where.
We rode forth, the Sir GalahaC
Of nations, without fear and with
out reproach. In the emotion o
the hour, in the devotion Of tina
high purpose, we believed that ou
allies were inspired with Simila
sentiments.
We must have believed, indeed
that even human nature had beer
reformed, that centuries of Euro
pean rivalrieS, jealousieS, hatred
and economic and territorial con
flictS were ended.
No nation in all this world eve