Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-03-21
GENERAL
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united in a loose league, he allowed
the conquered countries good deal
Of leeway. Perhaps his further idea
Of putting his own people, family
or fellow soldiers, on the thrones Of
several Of these states had some
thing to do with his iberality.
Whatever the reason, he didn't ex-
ercise a close enough control to
keep some of them conquered. In
Prussia, Scharnhorst and Stein ef-
fectually evaded his disarmament
DEGREES by using the permitted
small Prussian army in a new con-
cept, not as a fixed regular estab-
Gshment but as a military training
school through which they rushed
yearly classes of recruits as rapid
y as possible. In this way, they
forged the forces which finally sent
Napoleon first to Elba and later,
after Waterloo, to st. Helena.
Napoleon just wasn't tough enough.
We do a good deal of talking about
our great liberal free union of semi
sovereign states, the United States
Of America. But we frequently for
get that, SO far as the States of the
old Southern Confederacy are con-
eerned, there was nothing free or
liberal about it. We forced them
70 remain in the Union at the points
II bayonets.
It is worth remembering because,
after the Treaty of Versailles, the
Allies, especially England and
France, made exactly the same
mistake that Napoleon had made
and made it with exactly the same
varlike people, the Germans.
There was never a time, up to 1886
at Vast, when with the controls at
their command, they couldn't have
stopped Hitler, as Winston Churchill
continuously urged that they should
do. They didn't. AS Napoleon had
done earlier, and as the North did
not do after the Civil war, they per-
mitted the conquered country to
build up an overwhelming military
superiority, under their very noses.
Now the situation is reversed.
Hitler sits astride most of Europe.
He has disarmed it and made its
vast military booty part of his own
forces. He. like Napoleon, also con-
templates some kind of compul-
sorry United States of Europe. Some
observers, reverting to the Napoie-
onic failure, say that it can't be
done-that his conquest will collapse
through counter-revolution caused
by combination of interior strains
and stresses with outside pressure.
Will it? Napoleon, himself, fire.
quently said that all empires of con-
quest die of indigestion from over
eating and referred to the crackups
of the empires of Alexander, the
Romans, Ghengis Khan, Charlie
magne and the Caliphates of Bagh-
dad and Cordova.
On all the evidence to date, Hitler
is not likely to repeat the blunders
Of Napoleon and the Allies through
any lack Of toughness, efficiency or
cold-blooded cruelty. Let's not kid
ourselves too far from realism.
COLUMN AND NOSTALGIA
This column has been accused by
some of its best customers of nos
talgia or too much yearning toward
World war precedents and expert
ences in mobilizing American in
dustry and man-power for defense.
Sometimes from the hostiles this
criticism takes the angle that the
nostalgia" is for government job
on the defense front. More fire.
quently it is from sincere and un-
derstanding personal friends, and is
&c -
mobilization principles and expert
ences q years old and that, like "a
quail day for 80 days." it gets too
monotonous for the readers relish.
No, this column is not in rebuttal
of any of these criticisms about nos
talgia. It is just to talk some of
them over.
As to nostalgia for a job. That
isn't good sense. Any man would
like again to have some active part
IN . great national effort in a crisis,
but that natural wish was aban-
doned long ago. Quite understand
ably, this administration would not
seek out q critic for any more i'm
portant job than janitor in its dog
house. It b not to be blamed for
.tkat. Any other course would be
4 Sad. II wouldn't make for harmony.
On Tie oti,a4 hand, the admins
tTation has shown great considera-
t3on ana restraint. This column
could haye been silsnced any day,
Wiehouk ju14i6Ab1o criticism from
~ source, b. afnp0 calling ID
ennlnc1ae . ac4ive oeevice . . q.
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