Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1939-02-01
Slow Aiming,
Lodges Plan,
Means Little
By CHARLES p. STEWART
Central Press Columnist

Washington, Feb. 1.-Senator Henry
Cabot Lodge. Jr., of Massachusetts,,
addressing the Women's Patriotic
Conference on National Defense the
other night warned his hearers that
the United States should go ABOUT
the job of guaranteeing world peace
gradually, not attempt to attain us
end with undue haste.
We'll, how are we going about 1t!
Why. by undertaking the most formld-
able armament program in America
peace time history. If that is not
gradual enough for Senator Lodge ne
is hard to suit.
The idea of arming against war is
not new notion, at that. 1t has been
tried repeatedly and never has work
ed. The policy of not arming against
war also has been tried again and
again, and that has not worked either.
I was a Yankee news correspondent
in Europe during the last years be-
fore the world conflict. Essentially
that was a struggle between Britain
and Germany. Britain had had most
of the worlds trade. Germany was
irving vigorously to horn in. 1t an
, Sicipated forcible British resistance
and began preparing to fight for what
1t considered its rights. The British
pushed counter-preparation Finally
these preparations and counter-pre-
variations became so expensive, on
both sides. that it became obviously
less expensive to fight it out than to
20 on preparing indefinitely.
When the row started other coun-
tries more or less involuntarily were
involved. On the other hand, China,
potentially an enormously powerful
nation, always, until recently, despised
militancy, as morally and economical
Nv unsound, and did not prepare at
ALL Consequently Chinas very pacl-
fism landed it in terrible war-tne
Chinese looked like such easy PICK
ing to the bellicose Japanese.
T. Moral:
If YOU do not want war, make your
self too powerful to be safe to attack;
you will be challenged as dangerous
Nv powerful, and war is what you will
get. Contrariwise, if you do not want
war. do not prepare for it. and some
bullying rival is sure to jump on you
because it appears to be perfectly safe
for him to do so.
e Bellicosity Versus Pacifism.
A few years ago we had in Con-
gress quite an outstanding militarist
versus an equally outstanding pacifist.
At that iuncture cit was in the first
half of the 192O's) lot of peace talk
was in the international atmosphere
The $50 naval compact was agreed
on. The 9-power treaty was framed
up. too. And there was the Kellogg
pact. Armament limitation or out
right disarmament were the two or
ders of the day.
CONGRESSMAN Fred Britten of Hi
nois was chairman of the House of
Representatives Naval Affairs Com
mittee then He was a hard-boiled
militarist. But" he told me, IT am in
favor Of strict armament limitation.
Treaties are no good, If a country
has the equipment to fight it will.
fight, treaties or no treaties. The only
way to keep it peaceful is to deprive
of it fighting equipment"
Congressman George Huddleston of
Alabama was not chairman of any
committee, for, in that era, the Dem
ocrats, of whom he was one, were in
a minority on Capitol Hill, Neverthe-
less he was an enlightened pacifist
fArmament limitation" he assured
me, sis waste treaty-making. Let two
countries decide to fight one another,
and, no matter how effectively they
mutually are disarmed, they will fight
with carving knives, if that is all
they have got. Peace depends on how
folks feel, not on what they've got
to fight WITH
Be Gradual.
Well, "Be gradual is Senator
Lodges formula.
Arm, but Go not arm Be pacifistic
but not pacifistic.
Congress is discussing this issue.
wish ex-Rcpresentatives Britten
and Huddlcston were here to take a
hand in the debate. They had some
concrete thoughts to express.
g Arm for peace-and get into a war
consequently Do not arm, and get in
to a war anyway! Maybe Senator
Lodge has, the correct formula-"Be
gradual" q +