Oswald Garrison Villard to Jane Addams, January 12, 1916

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The New York Evening Post
WASHINGTON BUREAU

January 12, 1916.

Miss Jane Addams,
1716 New Hampshire Ave.,
Washington, D.C.

Dear Miss Addams:

The points that in your place I should make in addressing the Military Affairs Committee, are:

1. That it is folly not to await the outcome of the war before arming since we may find ourselves any moment with the largest fleet in the world, (because of battle between German and English fleets), and because we do not know what are the military and naval lessons of the war.

2. The moral effect upon Europe will be disastrous. See quotations of Lord Rosebury and London Telegram in <my> preparedness pamphlet, Frankfurter Zeitung has said same thing recently. Our arming, makes <world's> disarming infinitely more difficult.

3. Our military foundation <being> rotten, we should not build on it until we correct existing evils and cut out millions of dollars waste -- as set forth in my pamphlet. Merely adding men, does not mean efficiency <or any real preparedness>.

4. <We have now no> as national policy: ought we not to settle whether we shall arm for offense or defense?

5. Against whom are we arming?

6. It sets America totally in the wrong direction, away from social justice and development. <They> It will be starved for lack of the funds wasted on armaments.

7. Why not <an> inquiry to find out just what we have; to <confront> those who say our coast defenses is are no good, and those who [page 2] say they are very good; those like the three Admirals who say our fleet is superior to any but England's, and those who say it is fourth or fifth <in the list>.

I am sorry that I can only send you these hasty suggestions of which you have probably thought yourself.

Very sincerely yours,

Oswald Garrison Villard [signed]

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