26 SEPTEMBER 1914, Page 2

We are not ashamed to confess that the military unprepared-

ness of America haunts ns like a nightmare. No doubt it is well-nigh inconceivable that Germany can now be victorious. Still, if by a miracle she were to win, she would unquestion- ably turn her attention to the great unravaged and undeveloped riches of South America. She would, indeed, hardly have any choice but to renew her strength there. And then how about the Monroe Doctrine 1 Strange as it will sound to most American ears, and furious as it will render many thoughtless Transatlantic Jingoes, it is none the less true that at this moment what stands between the Monroe Doctrine and its complete destruction are our ships in the North Sea and the battle-weary, mud-stained men in the British and French trenches on the Aisne.