(3) that these increases, and all others called for by the staffs of the army and militia and the General Board of the Navy, should be granted immediately; (4) that Congress shall be asked to enroll forthwith 3.000 educated men, and proceed without delay to train them. as officers; and finally, (6) that an emergency fund of $100,000,000 be provided at once, by a bond issue, to meet the extra costs of all this in the year 1915.

Several members of the League hastened to endorse this resolution, strongly, and its adoption was promptly moved. It was heartily supported by Col. Wm. C. Church (Editor of the " Army and Navy Journal"), General George W. Wingate, Major George Haven Putnam, Mr. Charles E. Manierre, and oth

ers.

And then a strange thing happened. A gentleman. bearing a distinguished name took the floor, and in an impassioned speech advised "delay," "investigation," "wait until we have a large membership behind us," etc. "We must go slow," he cried, "or we will make ourselves ridiculous!"

And then another gentleman took the floor, and with less vehemence but equal firmness supported the demand for procrastination.

The majority gladly would have adopted the resolution, but no one cared to split a vote and discredit those two gentlemen at the second meeting of the new organization. The resolution was finally, but reluctantly, "referred to the Executive Committee, with power to act."

The Christmas holidays intervened; and after an exasperating delay the Executive Committee finally 1 The Plattsburg idea six months ahead of its time!

was brought together on January 25, 1915,— with only 33 working days remaining of the Congressional session. Again we brought forward our resolution, and asked for its adoption.

General Francis V. Greene was present, with the first copy of his new book on the war. And what think you was his attitude toward the resolution?

General Hostility!

Among other things, he said:

"We do not need to spend on preparedness any such huge sum as $100,000,000! There is no need whatever for any bond issue."

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But," I said, "will not the new measures that we claim are necessary require a great sum of new money?"

"Yes; but there is no necessity for a bond issue, nor for any such sum as $100,000,000."

"But the treasury is now facing the prospect of a deficit of $29,000,000. Will you tell us the source from which the millions for new preparedness measures can be obtained?"

And this was General Greene's answer:

"The Government can save it, by abolishing useless navy yards, and useless army posts!"

Now, that was a strange proposition, was it not? Well, stranger yet is the fact that it was informally accepted by that Executive Committee! A few weeks later it appeared in the N. S. L.'s printed circular! Then I wrote the secretary and gravely asked him: "How much do you figure out that the abolition of ' useless navy yards and useless army posts' could be made to yield in cash?"

As I live and breathe, his reply was:

"About $35,000,000!"

My resolution was not adopted by that Executive Committee, nor was it acted upon in any manner!

Then I asked the Committee for authority to print and send to Congress, within a week, a certain manifesto, which I read in full, entitled, "The United States a Fool's Paradise."

General Greene threw much ice-water upon that, also; and presently the Committee, without having taken formal action of any kind, on any subject, joyfully sprang to its feet and went in to President Menken's delightful supper.

Now, when an Executive Committee of New York men get together because they are interested in National Security and preparedness, and because they think they are wide awake, but are really sound asleep, what can you expect of the average citizen who flocks by himself and thinks things out alone?

The next day I resigned from the League, because it seemed a waste of time to go on with it. When did that body really get into action in Washington? I do not know.

On February 8, 1915, four great newspapers printed my manifesto, "The United States A Fool's Paradise." They were the Washington " Post," New York "Tribune," Chicago "Tribune" and the Kansas City "Star." It went to the President and to every member of Congress; but it aroused not the faintest trace of interest.

It is only just to Mr. Menken to add that later on in connection with this episode he has shown the mettle of a generous and courageous gentleman. I never once said to him "I told you so "; but on several occa

sions, and once in writing, he has taken pains to say,

"You were quite right. You were the only one of us all who had prevision. I wish we had followed your lead."

On February, 1916, I printed and sent out 9,500 copies of a 4-page manifesto to Congress and to Americans at large. It was entitled:

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National Defenses, or a National Licking! Which Shall It Be?"

The document was worded in the plainest English I could command, and it asked each recipient to write to his members of Congress, in Senate and House, and declare that he would support them at home in voting for the following national preparedness program:

A UNIVERSAL AMERICAN PLATFORM

I. A standing army of at least 250,000 well-trained, always-ready first-line troops, fully equipped with field artillery, aeroplanes, and automobile transportation, as planned by General Staff of the Army.

2.-A well-trained reserve army of not less than 750,000 second-line troops, at all times fully equipped and ready for active service on short notice, as planned by the General Staff.

3.-A navy, at least second best in the world, as planned by the General Board of the Navy, complete in fighting ships, scouts, submarines, hydroplanes, colliers, transports, and hospital ships.

4.—A chain of fortified coaling stations between our Pacific coast and the Philippines.

5. A flying army equal to the best in the world.

6. An adequate series of dry-docks and repair yards fit for even our largest war vessels.

7.-Payment for all new equipment from bond issues, of about $300,000,000 per year for the first two years, as the only equitable, practicable, and sensible way to raise the money, have it when it is wanted, and avoid disastrous wrangling over attempts to saddle the burden upon one class of people by taxation.

That call was posted to 9,000 picked men in the West and South, and to 500 newspapers. Did it make any impression?

It did. A country lawyer in a Minnesota town wrote me very kindly and said:

"I think that if your friends would place you in some secluded and quiet sanitarium for the feebleminded, and keep you for about three months on a milk diet, you might perhaps come out all right.”

And a good friend in the Texas legislature wrote and said:

"Texas never will stand for any issue of government bonds to pay for munitions of war,- never! If any such enormous expenditure as you propose really should be made, which I doubt,- it must come from incomes, inheritance taxes, and the makers of the munitions." [Class legislation for revenue, or else no preparedness!]

It is quite unnecessary to review in detail the acts of omission of the last session of the 63d Congress. Throughout a carnival of short-sightedness, folly and timidity, the real needs of the army,- in men, equipment, artillery and aeroplanes,― were sidetracked