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Show WHY THIS COUNTRY MUST ARM. In an editorial evidently intended to discourage the national campaign for preparedness, the Chronicle of San Francisco, says: "It is quite possible that London is correct in saying that the German campaign in Egypt is meeting with obstacles in tho way of shortage oi! coal for operating the railroad through Sjria to the edge of the desert approaching ap-proaching the Suez canal One can readily realize the difficulties in obtaining ob-taining sufficient fuel of any kind suitable for engines in Southern Syria. Mention is made of the reopening of certain mines which have been closed for 1000 years, and that may solve the problem, but the facts are of Interest chiefly as bearing upon the prepared ness agitation If Germany, with uninterrupted un-interrupted communications from Berlin Ber-lin through Austria. Serbia. Bulgaria and Turkey to Syria, finds herself even momentarily halted by a shortage short-age of coal, is It not reasonable to assume that even greater difficulties would face any European power undertaking un-dertaking to cross the Atlantic with sufficient arms, ammunition and men to make an effective landing on American soil? -People who talk of the ease of such an invasion have neither the inclination inclina-tion nor the capacity to work out the problem In transportation involved in a trans-atlantic campaign against a nation with a population of over a hundred millions, and practically unlimited un-limited resources of the kind most readily serviceable for defense They think "of ocean liners crowded with :mmigrants, but forget that most of them have little more impedimenta than could be put Into a red handkerchief handker-chief or a carpet bag. Soldiers need all manner of material, and unless almost al-most evervthing can be landed simultaneously, simul-taneously, they had far better stay at home England learned that bitter lesson with loss than 130,000 men landing on the Gallipoli peninsula. The strength of an armada of Invasion against anv well inhabited country is rot measured by the strength of tho largest dreadnought, but by the speed of the slowest transport carrying any essential materials And over all Is the follv of assuming that Americans would stand bv and look on they have not the courage to suggest that we would run. If Europe were not so steeped In tragedy a tragedy which is certain to leave her crippled for manv vears to come she might be tempted to smile not at American preparedness in itself, but at the n-vasion n-vasion arguments used by militarists, armament makers, and others." Either our military experts have misled us or the Chronicle is wrong. Estimates made by army officers and naval experts tend to prove that more than one nation in Europe can land 200,000 troops on our shores in one expedition, ex-pedition, and send half a million armed arm-ed men across the ocean within a period of six weeks. At present the United States is not fortified to resist an attack of that strength and could not turn back an invasion short of a year. In the meantime, mean-time, all our large gun and munition factories would be brought within the lines of the invaders and destroyed or turned to their purposes. This country should be strong enough in military forces to prevent even a temporary invasion. After the war, even the defeated European powers will be stronger in all the essentials of war than they were at the beginning of the conflict, unless an overwhelming victory is won by one side or the other. The Chronicle refers to the power of a well inhabited country. Unarmed Unarm-ed inhabitants are easily tamed by a row of bayonets. |
