bodies would be interposed between our Country and the guns of the enemy*
Every good citizen and every Christian should be a pacifist, if by pacifist
is meant one who abhors war and will 3o everything in his power to maintain
and secure peace; but history and the present condition of the world shows
that such efforts, while sometimes and perhaps increasingly successful, have
not and will not for years to c<nme, resulted in preventing Uar.
In pointing out the great harm done by "the withdrawal of troops from
Alaska in 1377, Jr. Young pointed out without comment the reason why every
Christian and every good citizen should support the Army. Lav/ and order
depend on force as yet* Anyone even casually acquainted with ljunan affairs
knows that there are many individuals and groups who nust be restrained from
crime by the strong afn of the law. This am is ordinarily the force of
civil officers, the police and sheriffs. But experience of this country has
shown that^there must often be a greater force than this exerted. Ihe govern
ment recently published a statement o f the number of tines since our country
was established the Amy had been called upon the suppress disorders* It av
eraged about once a year, if our memory serves. Think how many times during
the last few years the Army has been called out, especially to protect strik
ers from lawless strike-breakers and strike-breakers and property against^
lawless strikers (It works both ways—neither side in our industrial disputes
has been-entirely free of lawless individuals.) Had the Army been too weak
to properly cover the entire country, and hence arrive quickly at the scene
of disorder, the happenings and lawlessness of Alaska in 1877 would have been
repeated not on what was then a distant frontier, but in the heart of our lad.
One may also think of the other services the Army performs* There is for
instance nere in Alafeka, the telegraph and cable system maintained by the Ar—
my, without which there would be no decent news in our daily press, without
which there would be neither means of communicating with the ‘,OutsiieMnor
with other parts of the Territory in case of either public calamity or private
necessity. Ihere is the system of roads which, while perhaps not yet adequate
h^ve onx/ reached tneir present state largely through the efforts and direction
01 Army officers. Ihe past is soon forgotten, but wfio whas here in the ea?ly
days who will forget the explorations carried on by the Army which opened up
new tracts of this then unknown country to the prospector and settler or
who will forget the relief expeditions made by the Amy to Valdez and* else
where which saved so many who were dying of sickness and starvation?
These local examples are but illustrative of the great civil work of
the Amy all over our country, which includes nueh of the public work under
taken by the government, such as harbors, roads, rivers, canals-notably the
anema Canal.
Nor is il to oe forgotten ohat Army doctors hive done the Most notable
work in the prevention of disease of any group of physicians. among other
things to theta is due taucn of the credit for the development of typhoid and
pneumonia inoccud.ations and an --may doctor, at the cost of his own li^e made
possible the prevention of Yellow fever which once decimated the South.’
tJhile this is without commenting upon any possibility of foreign wars.
Ihere are those who believe all War can be prevented. Yet a survey of World
conditions today, be it cursory or profound, will convince any sane man that th
the time is not yet. European and Oriental nations are armed as never before"
Die newspapers from manta to month announce war af 3er war in the Orient th
near East and even in Europe. "Of course we will not be drawn in " save the
insane Pacifist, /e nope and pray we will not be drawn in " replied the
pacifist "but we also struggled for three years against belnr* drawn into the
World 'Var. Let us therefore urge arbitration and other means’of peacefuAr-stfl
-Lenient, let us use that ourselves, but 1st us keep an ,«w adequate ''
^ths purposes of national defense." (Continued on page four) ' '
**4?