The Dominion. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1916. THE PRESIDENT'S CHANGE OF FRONT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2683, 1 February 1916, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1916. THE PRESIDENT'S CHANGE OF FRONT

. —f .• A kote of urgcncy rings through President Wilson's latest plea for n stronger army and navy. Wc are tolcl that his spccch lias created a sensation in Europe, but a good deal of uncertainty exists as to its exact object. He admits that in his message to Congress on December G he stated that the need for preparedness was not pressing. Now ho declares that startling developments in connection with the international relationships of the United States may tako place to-morrow—and ho says he uses tho word "to-morrow" literally. On December 6 he assured Congress that he had in his mind, uo thought of any. immediate or par-

ticular danger arising out of Amc- I rica's relations with other nations. "We arc," he said, "at peace with all the nations of the world, and there is reason to hope that no question in controversy between this and other Governments will lead to any serious breach of amicable relations, grave as somo differences of attitude and policy have been and may yet turn out to be. What has happened between December G and January 20 to account for the sharp emphasis and nervous tone of the President's latest utterance and the intense anxiety which he now manifests as regards the readiness of the nation to face a sudden emergency? It is impossible to_say just what Mr. Wilson has in his mind. It may be that he has special reasons for believing that a crisis is at hand in the relations between America and Germany, or Austria, or both. The Lusi.tania trouble still remains unsettled, and reparation has not yet been made for other similar crimes involving tho murder of American citizens. Or is the President thinking of the possibility of serious trouble with Britain over the blockade 1 Perhaps tho speech is not intended to have any direct and special application. It may be merely a general warning to the world that America intends to put a littlo more backbone into her foreign policy. This perhaps is the most likely explanation. Some time ago Mit. Wilson made a memorable speech in which he stated that a nation might be "too proud to fight." That unfortunate phrase has had a weakening influence on American diplomacy, and the- impression in New York is that the object of the President's sensational utterance at the present juncture is to let the nations know that the United States is determined to defend its citizens and interests if necessary with the sword as well as with the pen. _ It is well known that a large section of his own countrymen is not at all satisfied with the manner in which Me. Wilson has directed the foreign policy of the United States during the war. There has been a strong demand for greater vigour and firmness in his methods. The state of public opinion at home is probably as much responsible for the President's change, of mood as the unsettled outlook abroad.

Bccent American papers tell rus that foreign policy will play an important part in the coming Presidential election. The Republicans and Progressives have been laying stress upon the need for increasing the country's prestige in the world. It is not unreasonable to regard the President's advocacy of the doctrine of "preparedness" as a strategic movement in political warfare. The New York Pnst, in warning the Republicans that the Democrats may steal their thunder, remarks.that "if it becomes a question of playing a political game with the President's war powers, Mr. Wilson can "beat his antagonists every time."

We do not say thnt President Wilson is attempting anything of the kind (savs the ''Post"}. But the Republicans ought to sec clearly that if lie does, he cun reailjly throw all their neat little plans to the ground. If therfc is a political reason for his change of attitude in l-iie matter of national defences, and also for the stifl'er position he has talcen with Austria, the whole ought to he a warning to the Republican manoeuvres. Their evident willingness to throw tho war into a partisan campaign is playing with dynamite. If it explodes, it will not be the President who is blown up.

At the present time national "preparedness" has becomc a burning question in the United States. President Wilson has committed himself to a. big naval and military programme, which. is being hotly debated in the Press, in the pulpit, and on the platform. It has tiaused a split in the Democratic Party. Mr. Bryan is leading a revolt, and Kitchin, the Democratic leader in Congress, has announced that- he will not support the President's proposals. The .administration programme provides for an increase of 33,835 in the Regular Army in two years, and the formation of a new federal army of 400,000 officers and men, to be enlisted at the rate of 133,000 a year. Recruits-would enlist for three years of intensive training (two months a year), and for three more years of furlough, subject to call in time of need. This would give America an army, including the National Guard, of over a million men more or less trained —that is, if volunteers came forward in sufficient numbers to keep_ all the ranks filled. There is considerable difference of opinion as to whether the required number of men could bo secured without conscription, and the problem of compulsion is already being warmly discussed. The naval programme provides for tho building, during the next five years, of ten Dreadnoughts, six battlecruisers, 85 coast submarines, 50 destroyers, 15 scout cruisers, and five gunboats. The General Board of the Navy in its report contends that the_ navy of the United States should ultimately be equal to the most powerful maintained by any other nation in the world. The report goes on to say that defence from invasion is not the only function of the navy, which must also protect sea-borne commercc and drive that of tho enemy from the sea-. "Tho best way to accomplish all the objects is to find and defeat the hostile fleet" at a safe distance from the coasts of America. Ideas like these are rather novel to the average American. They point to a new departure in national policy. Tho pacifists have become thoroughly alarmed, and they are appealing to the people to withstand tho demand for increased armaments. The advocates of "preparedness" are equally active, and they are receiving great support. The war is (teaching the people of America that "splendid isolation" is an impossible ideal. They are beginning to see that they must have sufficient naval and military power to protect their world-wide interests. The President's latest utterance on the subjcct may be intended to serve a double purpose—(l) to bring together the divided Democratic Party by a' suggestion of threatening danger near at hand: (2) to strengthen the hands of the American Government, which have been weakened in diplomatic negotiations with the warding Powers by the obvious disinclination of the President in the past to contemplate the possibility of having to back words by deeds. The authorities at Washington have not cut an heroic figure in tho handling of the Lusitania. and oilier German crimes against American citizens and humanity at large, and it will take a good deal to wipe out tho memory of America's {peat failuro as a professing champion of civilisation.