WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY

The military forces of the United States have never been encumbered by a superfluity of brains, and at present the supply seems to be at a particularly low ebb. General Clarence R. Edwards has asked the Military Order of the World to oppose the federal Child Labor Amendment unless it carries with it a universal conscription provision. He also urged a large air fleet, which, he said, "is one way to safety while we are busy converting the soft, mushy, pacifists".

These are not recommendations which appeal to anyone but the chauvinist and the jingo. Everyone agrees that America should have an army adequate for police protection; that is, everyone but the military man. This unfortunate looks at everything through a red haze, and all he sees is an infinity of armed nations about to spring upon a defenseless America. The United States is not at present threatened with war with any formidable nation, nor is it likely to be for some time.

It is unpolitic to dub as traitor those earnest men and women who are looking for a better way to settle disputes than by war. They represent constructive effort, as opposed to the destructiveness of the militarists, and they have the sympathy, if not the active support of most of the country. The power and impressiveness of the military is passing, and nothing makes this more obvious than the bombastic utterances of its proponents.