469
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
December, J936
ized for war. Four million of her 65,000,000 people have been constantly employed on munitions or in fighting forces. An increasing psychological preparation goes on with unrelenting intensity every hour of the day, in the schoolroom, in the controlled press, and by radio. As Hitler, “ the madman,” stood on the chassis of a huge locomotive in the historic Krupp munitions plant, and be fore a vast audience of 870,000 worshipers, thumbed his nose and screamed defiance at all the nations of the earth, Sir Thomas Inskip, Minister for the Coordination of De fense in the British Empire, stalked into the House of Commons and presented to the war-terrified members of Parliament an outline for a gigantic three-year program of aerial and naval defense for which Parliament quickly appropriated two billions of dollars. Britain is even now engaged in the greatest peace-time armament program of all time. During the present year, $1,000 a minute will be spent on armaments, adding 1,750 first-line fighting planes to Britain’s present force, and constructing 75,000 tons of new fighting ships. “ The Mistress of the Seas” expects soon to dwell within one vast impregnable sea-girt fortress. France is leading the nations in the possession of fight ing planes, with 4,000 to her credit. She boasts the newest and most modern navy afloat. She has built the greatest fleet of tanks in'the world. Approximately 20,000 pieces of artillery are ready to vomit death upon her enemies. In addition to all this, French authorities recently said that the government w ill spend nearly a billion dollars on its army in the next four years because of that which the French Cabinet terms “ war danger.” France, together with her allies, Russia, Czechoslovakia, RoumaniaHand Yugoslavia, is backed by 2,426,000 men in arms; and it is said that 7,000,000 could go into action shortly after hos tilities begin. Yet, with all this, France lies awake nights, aquiver with fear! On the other side of the steel-helmeted continent, Josef Stalin is putting the last coat of paint on the most powerful blood-letting machine that humanity— rather, inhumanity — has ever known. There are 1,300,000 Russians standing in arms, while 2,500,000 more are trained and ready to go into action within three weeks. As many as 3,000 first line fighting planes are now droning in the air, and 1,500 of the world’s most efficient fighting tanks are ready to leap in stantly from the lair of the great Northern Bear. Turkey, profiting by A dolf Hitler’s scorn of solemn covenants, hurls a bombshell into the midst of an already badly shell-shocked Continent, by announcing that she ex pects to remilitarize the Dardanelles, the Bosphorus, and the Sea of Marmora— fortifying the straits. Poland boasts 800 fighting planes, and notifies the world that she is prepared to send one-eighth of her 33,310,000 inhabitants to wade the blood-puddles on short notice. Between these seemingly irresistible war-minded G o liaths of Western and Eastern Europe, and to the south of Germany’s war-maddened millions, lies Italy, with her conquering Caesar again enthroned. The one thing that all realize is that unless the imperialism of this megalomaniac is checked, and checked at once, it is inevitable that the world must soon pass through the flames of a war that will leave man’s civilization an ash heap. The sad part of it is that it seems there is nothing any one can do to check this Roman beast. He thinks only his own thoughts, and has utterly no regard for the thoughts of either God or men. It is his thought that another war is at hand. Hear him: The inevitability of the nation’s being called upon to face another war must guide all our actions. W e must become a military nation, even a militaristic na tion, even— I might add— a warlike nation.
A confused and frightened world hastens to "prepare war," uncer tain as to what will be the next source of strife.
W e realize there was enormous criticism of the methods used in Ethiopia to assure the necessary expansion of our people . . . There never has been more than one way for a nation to impose itself and its will on backward peoples— hy force. A good many small nations in Europe and Asia are now wondering how soon Mussolini is going to find out that they, also are, in his opinion, a bit “ backward.” Within twenty-four hours, the new “ Roman Empire” could call to the colors 1,500,000 men o f war— one of the most mod ern armies of the world. A few days ago, Mussolini boasted before the world of his “ forest of 8,000 000 bay onets.” He possesses 9,000 pieces of artillery, 750 tanks, and has built 1,200 fighting planes within the last thirteen months. Mussolini’s program calls for the building of 1,500 planes yearly. He now has 3,700 planes in the air. Then, there lies the region of Austria, Hungary, Rou- mania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia— the powder barrel of Europe, and the powder barrel is filled to the brim! T h e Viennese newspaper, Neuste Nachrichten, esti mates that Czechoslovakia has 900 fighting planes, that Yugoslavia has more than 850, and that Roumania has 800. Roumania recently raised its military budget to $38,000,- 000 and created a special fund of $20,000,000 for avia tion. Austria has ordered universal conscription. Spain possesses 500 fighting planes. Even heretofore peaceful little Switzerland, losing all faith in the League of Nations in which she has been trusting for protection, is arming to the teeth. She now has an armed force of 450,000 fighting men, including reserves. Above them there is the drone of 240 fighting planes. The war-consciousness of all Europe was never more clearly revealed than in a remarkable article, “ Europe in Gas Masks,” printed in the New Outlook a year ago. W e quote: Europe is gas-minded . . . Everybody expects the worst. People are buying masks just to be on the safe side; Paris ians, like newlyweds examining suburban bungalows, are bus ily inspecting oxidized shelters; Italians are consulting the prices of ambulance service for gases; Londoners are reading booklets on what to do when the “ dew of death” falls. . . . The German public is being educated in the effects of four standard gases. . . . All over Europe the sale of gas masks has mounted tremendously in the past few months. . . . Masks used to sell for about $15.00, but iately, due to large volume, the price has dropped to as low as $7.00. . . . There is a tragic race between the producers of gas masks and the chem ists who invent new gases which will penetrate all existent masks . . . There is no royal road to safety via gas masks . . . Italy has drawn up an elaborate system of evacuation of city populations to go into effect on the declaration of war. . . . Concerning civilian protection, the opinion of General Duchene, Inspector General of the Defense of French Terri tory, is ominously important. “W e shall never shelter all the
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