The Washington times., 1938-05-02

w Ideas and the good judgment OF Senator Robert
M. La Toilette (Rep, Wis.,, of old Fighting Bob
Even So the best of us make mistakes; and we think
that the matter of the bgnavy bill Senator La Toilette
has skidded badly.
La Toilette is against the big-navy bill. In speech
at Chicago recently he proposed substitute for adj
ditiona batteships. His idea that we ought to
take the batteship money and build homes-the
money would build a lot of homes-in, for example,
Chicago. This would lift the morale and stamina of
numerous people living in sums, and they would
be better able to fight in war, and thus would
get better brand of national security than battle
ships could give
It's pretty line of reasoning, even though an old
one; but it isn't real reasoning.
What interests us is the question why men like La
Folette of Wisconsin, and Nye, of North Dakota so
often fall for this line of alleged logic
We think there is something ancestral about it. In
the old days. the Norsemen in their long war boats
,. could raid seaports, but they couldn't come
<"'CeS"W thousand miles inland to raid anything
FeeLinOs There is an inherited feeling, we believe,
that nlanders are proof against danger
This feeling must have been strengthened in vari-
Gus inland statesmen, like Nye and La Follette by
formative years spent far from either of our coasts
Then, too La Toilette probably inherited pacifism
from his father the father was known as Fight
ing Bob.
VI course, the TACT that the proposed battleships
wouldn't be built in Wisconsin, Idaho or North Dakota
perhaps has nothing to do with the La Folette-Nye
opposition to the big-navy bill Perhaps.
A moments thought should, but probably won't con-
vince any inland statesman that time and change have
punctured this inherited feeling they have so many
~ others.
"w NOO"""VS If should get into a war;
Strikes Inland North Dakota and Wisconsin and
all the other inland States would
have to contribute blood and money they did 19718
we should lose the war, the inland States would have
to put up their share of the PREPARATIONS to
unless they wanted the seaports occupied by the
querors and all American disrupted in conse-
quence.
War strikes inland nowadays directly or indirectly It
hits in another the whole population of every
country engaged in it.
Senator Borah (R) of Idaho also an inland statesman
is also against the bgnavy BILL the ground that it will
start naval Forsooth as we used to say in Shake
speare Glass; doesn't Borah know that the naval race
started some time ago?
The best way for us to keep out of war is to have 50
powerful first line of defense that covetous nations will
not try to crash through If weaken our first line of
NJ, defense we expect more nations
AWO OHIPS to attempt breakthrough as soon as their
FOr One spies tell them the time is ripe.
The first and best line of defense of
nation situated are with on two sides and
friendly weak neghbors the other two Sides is
powerful navy powerful enough navy can keep any war
from getting to the mainland at ALL except for possible
enemy air raids on cities at or the coast navy well
enough equipped with fighting planes can minimize the
danger of air raids
That is the logic of national defense problem and
we wish various inland statesmen would spend prayerfu
hour two trying to absorb that logic The rest of the
story is that Japan logical enemy in war; so
that need navy at least twice as strong as Japans