Appendix B

APPENDIX B

GENERAL WOOD'S ADDRESS IN THE

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHYARD

The condition in which we find ourselves is that we are entering our fourth month of this great war with the greatest military power in the world. Now as to just about how far we've gone in getting ready. We have our officers for our first encampment in training. They are about half through their first period. They have six more weeks of training and then they will start in with another lot of officers. Our conscripted men will come to the colors some time in far off September or when we have entered upon our sixth month of this war. Now the Franco-Prussian War of '70-'71 was virtually won in six weeks, and now judge the first six weeks of this war, measured by the accomplishments of the German armies in the west and that gives you some idea of what would have happened to us if we had been attacked by a great military power without our allies. We would have literally had to go to work and forget our weapons of war; however we have entered upon this great war without any kind of preparation which has enabled us to enter promptly upon it. It is no use to repine for the things we should have had, but it is well to remember this fortunate circumstance, that of having allies who are now fighting our battles.

We are now in the world's greatest war preparing to send our armies across the seas. We are preparing behind the fighting of English, French, Italian and others -- they are doing our fighting while we are getting ready. Now this is not very flattering to our far-sightedness or our intelligence, but it is very fortunate for our national safety that we have allies who are today fighting while we are getting ready. We have never heeded that wise advice of Washington, which is also the advice of Jefferson, Adams and all our Presidents. The advice was to get ready in time of peace for war, not getting ready in the sense of getting ready to wage an aggressive war, but to get ready so that we might be able to defend ourselves against attack. To be prepared does not necessarily mean to be aggressive--we are not a warlike, aggressive people. It is the aggressive and warlike people who contemplate conquest. We should build an army in line with our national policy and be ready to carry out our national policy and we should always be ready to do what the national policy dictates.

We should be ready to defend ourselves. The man who has his weapon in his house is not a warlike man because of this fact, because he knows there are wrong-doers in this world, and does not know when they may come. We are not ready, but let us thank God for one fact, that although unready ourselves, at least we are in line with those who are ready, and who are fighting great battles for democracy.

Our President said sometime ago that the world must be made safe for democracy, but what if the greatest democracy in the world is not organized or prepared and has nothing with which to fight the battles of democracy? We the leading democracy are not ready. We owe it to democracy to be ready, to be organized, to be prepared. Remember we can be just as restrained when we are armed, just as just. War is in the world more so today than in the history of the world. There has never been known a time when war was more evident than it is today. These conditions are unfortunate, it is true, but true nonetheless, and it is for us to remember that democracy must live and we as a nation must be ready to play the part and we cannot play it unless prepared. The time has come when we have got to play the game with our own lives. The time has come to you and you have been found completely unready, not in spirit but without weapons, without organization and without preparation. Now when Washington urged us to make ready in time of peace he urged us to do so from the standpoint of wisdom and experience. He had been to war and he knew what war was.

Washington also believed in universal service and in service for all, also did Jefferson and most of our men who have thought at all on the question. You cannot depend on volunteers.

Belgium, for instance -- a completely unwarlike country. She stood in the way of the designs of military power and she was wiped practically out at first, regardless of treaties and promises. So it is throughout all times. It is unfortunate -- it is true. On the other hand think of Switzerland only one half the size of Belgium, also protected by treaties but also wise in experience. All her men are trained soldiers but she has only a few soldiers. She is not a military country. Belgium would have been wiped out entirely but for the French and English.

Source: Portion of speech: Charlotte Observer, July 6, 1917.