FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER

The fifteenth anniversary of the entry of the United States into the World War was commemorated April 6. In Washington on that day the President and dignitaries of the government took part in elaborate public celebration of the event; in several other cities, companies of infantry in full array marched through the streets amid the cheers of "patriotic" citizens. Loyal Americans have made articulate their satisfaction at participating in one of the most destructive wars of history. During the past week, motion pictures of these parades have been shown in newsreels at theatres in order to stimulate the patriotism of persons who have not been in a position to demonstrate it in public.

So long as the government sponsors blind complacency with the national attitude in past wars, it can hardly pretend to be a champion of world peace. The overpowering appeal of the sound of trumpets and the march of soldiers cannot help making men readier to fight future wars on small provocation. If "peace-loving" statesmen cannot devise effective means for maintaining permanent peace, the least that can be expected is that they should not make efforts to rekindle the appeal of militarism.