then, we ask, do nations make provision for war the first
necessity of national life? Behold Russia. A few years ago, in time of
famine, spending millions of money for war equipment when millions of
her own peasantry were slowly starving for the lack of one dollar's
worth of food per month. What motive impelled Russia to this heathen
conduct? It was solely that Germany, France, England, Japan, and the
United States had great armies and navies against which starving
Russia must be prepared to defend herself. What dire stress compels
England to-day to perpetuate her program of naval supremacy when she
is struggling in the throes of budget difficulties which seem all but
unsolvable? What is it that compels Germany and France to tax
themselves until they fairly stagger under the burden of military
expenditures? Naught other than a suicidal lust for military power.
Naught other than the infatuation of the dizzy, competitive war dance
of mutual destruction--each nation blindly driven by all, and all by
each.

We as Americans profess to find in the conduct of Russia, in the
militarism of England and Germany and France, examples of militarism
run rampant. How our hearts have warmed within us when we have thought
of our own republic as the happy envied nation, free from the burden
of militarism! Our farmer has gone singing about his work, apparently
not having to carry on his back a soldier, as does the European
peasant. Our mechanic has freely plied his trade without thought of
supporting a sailor. Yet how can we say that the United States in
buying battleships and erecting coast defenses, in arming her soldiers
with Krag-Joergensens, has not been deprived of schools, colleges, and
opportunities essential to happiness and prosperity? In a decade we
have spent nearly a billion dollars on our navy alone. Yes, we have
aped the military fashions of Europe and have set a new standard of
military waste.

Verily our national advancement waits on militarism. Inland waterways
should be improved; forests must be safeguarded; other natural
resources of untold value should be conserved; millions of acres of
desert lands should be improved; millions in swamps should be
redeemed. The problem of the nation's food supply is becoming urgent;
for its solution we must look more and more to scientific methods in
agriculture. Yet contrast the support our government gives these vital
interests with war's mighty drain on our treasury. Congress
ap