Thus has it ever been when America went to war. The pages of our
history teem with disasters for which our happy-go-lucky attitude
toward all things military is responsible. Curiously enough, in the
very face of such a record, flourishes a popular conviction that the
history of our warfare is one of triumph succeeding triumph with
monotonous regularity; and that with respect to our armies, if in no
other thing, America has far excelled the other peoples of the earth.
That this is all a ghastly illusion any one who has access to a
respectable library can quickly satisfy himself. The simple truth is
that our past military record has been far from extraordinary; that
Americans considered as individuals are no braver than other people;
and that when these individuals are associated in armies they require
much the same degree of organization, equipment, and leadership as
other armies do, if the record they make is to constitute pleasant
reading for the nation that sends them forth to war.
It behooves us to note in this connection that no other type of human
activity calls for so high a degree of organization and discipline as
does the waging of civilized war; and further, that as a consequence
of the industrial development of the last century the handicap of a
nation which is unprepared to defend itself, in a contest with one
which has thus prepared, is vastly greater than ever before. The
ancient Gauls and Germans were able to wage a respectable fight
against so mighty a military machine as the legions of Julius Caesar,
and on one notable occasion, a few years later, a great imperial army
was utterly destroyed by the forest barbarians. In modern times the
small armies of England have marched at will over Africa, and the
fanatic bravery of the tribesmen has led to no other result than their
more certain and speedy slaughter at the hands of their civilized
foemen. Returning to our own history, the American militiaman of
Revolutionary days was no match for the British regular; and, popular
belief to the contrary, the naval War of 1812 was not won by America.
Even were the contrary the case, however, it would avail us nothing at
the present time, for the art of warfare and the circumstances of
human life have alike undergone a complete revolution during the last
hundred years. Mr. Bryan’s fanciful vision of a million men springing
to arms at the first note of danger is but an empty myth, but
unfortunately it is by no means a harmless one. The nation which
neglects to set its defenses in order in advance of the emergency is,
under modern conditions, doomed to defeat before war shall have been
declared.