OCR Text |
Show 12,750,000 Men Under Arms Twenty five years ago, when t'ole World War began, there were 5,970,-OOO 5,970,-OOO men under arfxs; today there are 12,750,000 irr.fcn under arms. The idea that these powerful anr.i-les anr.i-les have been assembled for picnicking picnick-ing purposes is absurd:. Leaders cf the nations involved rr.ay not desire war, they Ixoy yearn for peace, but, Just the same, they demand something some-thing that they will not get without :ar. Of course, everybody knows that var will be terrible. Everybody knew it in 1914. Forecasts of a worldwide detecle if another war develop re-miind re-miind us of the doleful prophecies that preceded the World War, even II they did not prevent it. Incidentally, Incident-ally, the prophecies were not altogether alto-gether wrong. In the Far East Japan has 1,500-000 1,500-000 jn)en Hinder arixs and China, counting guerillas probably 2,000 000. In 1914 both had a total of 400,000. In Europe, revived Geflrjany has hntown 1 500.000 ainici 2.000.000 mem ready to fight, whereas in 1914 Germany Ger-many and Austria combined boasted of only 1,200000. Italy's imillion compares com-pares withi about 300,000 a quarter of a century ago. France has a million men ready, about onefaurth mbre than when tihe fonmler war started and1 Great Britain, Bri-tain, with conscription under way, expects to have 750,000 before long. This compares with about 260,000 in 1914. Soviet Russia is beledved to have 1,500,000 much better equipped than the sal.ne number tihlat began the war for the Czar. Poland', born of the World War, has more than a million soldiers prilmed to meet expected aggression. lis is pointed out that tine rr.arb-oeuvers rr.arb-oeuvers of these Europeian armies will reach a climax 'about the first of Se0teuxiber, when the crops have been harvested, and the nations reach a peak of war preparedr". Between now and: then anything Happen in Europe, inciuidingk firing of the first .hot. T T |