' r
The Commoner
vol. ig;n'o1
12
J
.
docs ubciI In the AuHtrlan navy, besidCH several
iof tho now seaplancfl, aro made by tho White
head torpedo worku in Hungary. This firm has
also a place at Weymouth. Thoy aro making
torpedoes for tho British navy at Weymouth and
torpodocB with British capital in Hungary in or
der to destroy British ships. This reference ap
peared in Armstrong, Whitworth and Go's an
nual report in regard to their interests in Aus
trian torpedo works:
"Tho directors in view of tho important part
played by torpedoes in naval warfare have ac
ciuirod an interest in Whitehead and Company."
I want to rofcr very briefly to one other point.
Members of Parliament who are not directors of
armamont Arms and not shareholders can not
always avoid being influenced in their actions by
1 ho' fact that thoy have in their constituency
Ihoso who aro interested. I make no personal
imputation whatover upon tho opinions of the
boll, member whose words I am going to quote.
7 am (jiiito sure that ho regrets the action I am
now going to describe as much as any man pos
sibly could. Wo have in this house some half
dozoil members who represent dockyard constit
uencies, or in whose constituencies arc firms who
employ a largo number of men who, under exist
ing conditions, depend for their livelihood upon
naval expenditure. The lion, member who rep
resents the Brightsido division of Sheffield (Sir
J. Tudor Walters) is in such an unfortunate po
sition, He was addressing his constituents on
31st .luly, 1907, and it appears that there had
been complaints that he had not befti getting
sufficient orders from the admiralty and from
tho war office for Shellleld, and ho wus being
compared with his predecessor to bis own dis
advantage in this respect. This is what ho said
in a public speech in bis constituency:
"Whon ho secured from tho government a
largo order for Shofficld, he was not so simplo
us to go shouting about it in tho House of Com
mons. If you shout you can not do much. If
you want to accomplish things, you have to go
to work quietly and carefully. It is not for mo
to shout, about orders. It is for mo to go to the
war office and the admiralty and got them."
Nobody, I think, can help feeling sympathy
with a member of Parliament who is compelled,
like a commercial bagman, to go to the war office
find the admirality begging for orders because
tho maintenance of his Boat depends on his suc
eess in that direction. What can I suggest as a
layout of the difficulty? Tho first suggestion
T 'lhalce is that something must bo done to got
out of tho clutches of these crooks, swindlers
find thieves, politicians and generals, makers of
armaments. It is also important we should give
tfrtriio practical proof of our desire that this naval
Expenditure should end. In spite of the high
tiOuhdlng words uttered by successive first lords
of tho admiralty in favor of a reduction in naval
armaments, nothing practical has been done.
Tho right hon. gentleman spoke some time ago
about a naval holiday, but it was stated in the
lust iinvnl debate in the Reichstag that there
"never had been anv proposal made by this gov
ernment for the reduction of international arma
ments. If this proposition means anything at
nil,' let tho government givo it practical shape.
-Year after year wo hear statements in Germany
i(tid France, as well as in this country, about the
wasteful expenditure on armaments. Not long
sinco our present foreign secretary said that if
this ''thing wont on thero 'could be only one ot
two possible results, either a Europe knee-deep
in' blood or bankrupt European nations. What
id' the uso of such talk? Is European states
manship so bankrupt that it can not find any
means of giving practical expression to what
vsvjjryuody professes to be their desiros
We -have been told by the chancellor of the
exchequer that this is the most favorable mo
ment In the last twenty years for doing this
When we opened our newspapers last New Year's
morning and read his New Year's message to the
nation, somo of us hoped, and wore for a mo
ment inclined to believe, that tho present chan
cellor of the exchequer was at last going to have
the courage of tho late Lord Randolph Churchill
But we have been disappointed. What did he
Slljr
"The most favorable moment for the last
twenty years."
And he went on to say:
"Unless Liberalism seizes this favorable on
portunity it will bo false to iff Sst trad I
, tions, and those who have tho consciences of
i Liberalism in their charge will be written down
, for all time as having betrayed their trust "
1 Are ministers to be written down for all'timo
as having betrayed the trust? I have noticed
Power of Congress to Raise Armies
From Tho Johnstown, Pa., Democrat.
In this republican form of government, as dis
tinguished from a monarchy, tho constitution of
tho United States expresses all the powers which
tho congress and tho President possess. All
other powers are reserved to tho states and tho
inhabitants thereof, as defined in their constitu
tions. The war powers of tho nation are defined in
Sec. 8 of Art. 1 of the national charter: "Con
gress shall have power," it says, "to declare
war, grant letters of marque and reprisal and
make rules' concerning captures on land and
water; to raise and support armies; but no ap
propriation of money to that use shall be for a
longer term than two years; to provide and
maintain a navy; to make rules for the govern
ment and regulation of the land and naval
forces; to provide for calling forth tho militia
to execute the laws of the union, to suppress in
surrections and repel invasions; to provide for
organizing, arming and disciplining tho militia
and for governing such part of them as may be
employed in the service of the United States, re
serving to the states, respective, the appointment
of officors, and the authority of training the mi
litia according to the discipline prescribed by
congress."
These distinctly enumerated powers are all re
lated to the one subject of war and are known as
war powers. The framers of the constitution
had in view the original declaration of rights,
which was opposed to standing armies to fatten
off the arts of peace.
The Declaration of Independence accused
King George thus: "He has kept among us, in
times of peace, standing armies, without the con
sent of our legislatures," etc.
The constitution of Virginia, for which our
President should have a deep veneration, adopt
ed in 177G, declared, in the language of the
British Bill of Rights of 1G89, "that the raising
or keeping of a standing army within the king
dom in time of peace, unless it be with the con
sent of parliament, is against law."
The constitution of Pennsylvania, adopted in
177G, upon which the revolution was successful
ly maintained, declared: "As standing armies in
the time of peace aro dangerous to. liberty, thev
ought pot to be kept up; and the military should
be kept under strict subordination to and gov
erned by the civil power." h
It was under this doctrine that Pennsylvania
furnished the best fighting organizations, along
what has been to me a very painful change dur
ing the last week or two in the attitude of two
or three Liberal journals upon this question. I
do not hesitate to mention names the "Man
chester Guardian," the "Nation," and the "Daily
News and Leader." Three months ago they
were speaking on this question in a way which
gave satis action to all of us. But they fcavo
been practically silent during the last few weeks,
and last week the "Nation" dismissed the whole
?nininw? ?1Y5 f,hort ParaSra in the news
topics. What is the meaning of that? I think
the explanation is that pressure has been brought
to bear upon these people to remain silent. Ap
peals have been made to them, pointing out the
present precarious position of certain other
tuZ inn,1 mnas a?fnt,y anxious to see Home
Rue placed on the statute book as any member
of this house, but you can pay too high a price
even for that Whatever may be the fa te of till
?renrnni?f' fr ne' and X SDeak Poetically
or all my colleagues, will not give one vote in
this house during the present session, whatever
the consequences may be, which can be con
strued by any stretch of imagination as being
in support either of the amount of these esti
mates or of the policy foreshadowed by the first
lord yesterday Really it is time that we clanged
all this wasteful expenditure. It is time we be
gan to realize that a beautiful school is a grander
sight than a battleship a contented and pros
perous peasantry than great batallions. It is
time we began to realize that "Peace hath heY
victories no less renowned than war "
The prime minister stated some 'weeks ago
that the solution of this question was in the
hands of international democracy. It is so The
peoples of the world have in the past trusted to
king, emperors, and plutocrats, and each of them
has failed. It is now for tho people to trust
with Maryland and Virginia. A man must be
totally oblivious to the history of his country if
lie does not know that there was no "standing'
army" then.
Section 22, Art. 1, of the constitution of-Pennsylvania
ordains: "No standing army shall in
time of peace be kept up without the consent of
tho legislature; and the military shall in--all
cases, and at all times, be in strict subordination
to tho civil power." ,
This being the fundamental law of state and
nation, the Garrison plan of a large standing
continental army is wholly unconstitutional.
It is only in case of actual or threatened war
that our legislature may consent to such a pro
gram. The legislature must assent to it before
a member of congress from Pennsylvania, who
is loyal to our constitution, could conscientiously
vote for such a chancellary monstrosity in tlr
of universal peace on this continent. Nations
whose brainy men understand law might well
consider an act of congress, hurriedly and un
constitutionally adopted, as a tacit preparation
to declare war upon them.
No one but an impractical theorist would fcra
ject such a proposition with honest intent. ' 'It
will be noticed that the militia of each state is
left to the regulation of the state, except when,
in three cases, it may be called into the service
of con cress: "
1. "To execute the laws of the union." This
is wholly internal. It has noreference to1 inter
national matters. ' "
2. "To suppress insurrections." This also is
whollv internal. "i"
3. "To repel invasions.'' This provides, -for
defensive purposes only. There is no power of.
congress-written in the constitution besides; and
these are the express limitations upon the pur
poses for which the militia may be called outr-'-
Congress is given the general power to raise
and support armies for war, "vhen declared' but
it is limited to appropriating money -for thatypur-
pose "for a longer term than two years' This
unconstitutional chamber scheme, ill-advised and
ill-considered, contemplates foisting a perma
nent militarv system upon the republic. In- or
der to do this it will be necessary to trample
the constitution in the dust, outrage the memory
of the glorious patriots and martyrs who estab
lished it, and give the lie to every democratic
statesman we love to honor, as well as to con
tradict the truthful sentiments of the President
in his last message to congress.
themselves. The workers of the world liave no
animosities; they have no jealousies; they have
no diverse interests. All they want Is freedom
to work and the right to enjoy the fruits of their
labor. I say again we echo, in the same senti
ments as our comrades in the French Parlia
ment and the German Reichstag, our determin
ation to do what we can. to change national opin
ion and national ideas upon thij question, and I
do not despair of our doing so. It may be the
darkest night. The dawn comes slow now
slowj-but it does come, and I believe that out
of the chaos and strife that now prevail tliere
are rising brighter and better times, when nation
will be no more against nation, and when' all
the people of the earth will realize that of all the
grand, priceless blessings of humanity, the
greatest of all is peace. "
The republican leaders who have been insist
ng that the tariff shall be made the principal
issue in the 1916 election little know what a t?l-
lectuals of the liarty orators. Imagine a repub
lican orator trying to prove that whatever de
pression has existed in business has been duet6
the democratic tariff, while it is a matter of gov
ernment record that the war lessened imports
more effectively, than the highest tariff an? Je?
publican ever desired to erect could do, while
the increase In the Value Of imports for tlie year
ending June 30, 1914, as compared with Uiat
ending June 30, 1914, was but 8 per cent. '
Congress has been in session for the better
any bill to increase the army and navy. Con;
greas is likely to become extremely unpoptatar
with the navy league and the munitions trust
and a few other hurry-to-it organizations. "'
.. i"