THE WAR SCARE IN THE UNITED STATES.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XX, Issue XV, 9 April 1898, Page 442

THE WAR SCARE IN THE UNITED STATES.

There is ‘business’ behind the perpetual war-scare with which newspapers are filled, says a New York journal. The adroit lobbyists at Washington who are pushing forward schemes for enormous appropriations for a new navy utilise every possible event that may be construed as a menace to the nation's peace. The larger the appropriations for the naval construction, the greater the profits to the constructors, the lobby, and the rest of the crowd who are ‘in the ring’ at Washington. These enterprising promoters are extending their lines. They want enormous appropriations not only for the navy and fortifications, but also for guns, smokeless powder, torpedoes, and patented projectiles of all kinds. We are told that if a war should break out Ihe United States would find themselves totally unprepared for the contest. and that it would take months to furnish sufficient powder, muskets, etc., with which to put an effective army in action. As if anybody contemplated that they would go to war on a moment's notice. War in our times means a great deal more than it used to. No nation enters upon a war with another without very seriously contemplating the situation and averting the clash if possible.