The McDowell times. [volume] (Keystone, W. Va.) 1904-1941, 1938-08-05
Notes on an" Day

NOteS on M Lay
Many and devirse are the
horrors predicted to plague the
people of the world when next a
great insanity sweeps over the
earth, superceeding reasoning
and submerging all the fer traits
of mankind. Statesmen, writer's
and eminent citizens avouch
that t h e terrorism raging to-
day in Spain is only the expert
ments of military powers; is
only a harbinger of tomorrow's
great war. If the wholesale
slaughter of humans i'm Spain
is to be taken as a criterio, it
is logical to assume that if the
great nations of the world plunge
themselves into war, mankind
and the world we know is doom
ed to destruction.
1t is far from pleasant to
ponder on Americas part in the
next bloody conflict. One hopes
against mounting odds that
America will renal aloof when
the gus begin to roar out their
grim songs of death. But, the
rousing music, orators who
preach that CORY lies in whole
sale murder, preachers who for
get their Bible and pour from
their pulpits pleas for univer-
sal madness, poets who put rime
before reason, politicians who
put a war-monger's dollar above
the public veal and alarmists in
general can cause strange and
savage notions to take the place
of wisdom and reasoning in the
public mind.
If America does decide to enter
another war it will find itself the
greatest potential fighting ma
chine in the world. The United
States is we'll edowed with the
nine basic essentials of modern
warfare: chemicals, coal, iron,
ore, steel, oil, power, machinery
food, and manufacturing Prov
ness. In additio to the essentials
of modern warfare, America
possesses other raw materials
useful in modern combat: nickel,
tungsten, anthony, mercury,
platinum, mica nitrates, hides
camphor, shellac, coco, jute,
MANILA fiber sisal wool, nut
shells coffee, and sugar. Ameri-
ca also has stokes of copper,
cotton, lead, aluminium, phos-
pilates, potash sulfur, rubber,
tin n d zinc. Other countries
lack many of the vital materials,
America is rich in.
Now, thanks to our erudite
congressman, has a program,
astounding in its absolute COM
pleteness, which will guide and
control our part, if Congress
rules that we take a part in any
future war.
against Germany April 6, 1917,
she had most of the materials
necessary for war which she
now has, but in the haste and
confusion of preparing for and
waging war, she erred in many
tremes in purchasing some
100000 items in 1917-18. The
Allies had to provide America
with airplanes, and the few
that America did send to France
were Labelled Flying collins"
by aviators. The artillery and
tanks used by the A.E.F. were
not made in the United States
a Allied designs had to be used
for rifles. America was not eff
ficiently organized in 1918 to
solve all the manifold problems
that war on a gigantic scale pro-
1uced.
When Americas Mobiliza-
ton, or IN" day, arrives, if
such does, the industrial mobili-
zation the national defense Act,
and probably four more plans, /
now pending congressional &C
ton, will start the machinery of
q Gigantic, planned to the Nth
degree program rolling. Every
thing will be done so as to pro-
vide "a minimum of confusion, |
waste and loss.
The Industrial Mobilization |
Plan is actually not a law, it is
ltended to take up where the
National Defense Act leaves off.
TheI MP. is already function
ng. The War and Navy Depart
nents have been conducting
surveys of more than 10000 |
'actories, 10000 of which have
'een assigned the task of provid-
ng the army with the 100000 !
rticles found to be necessary in
ime of war. The list of factor
es is revised every two years