Page:Jean Jaurès socialist and humanitarian 1917.djvu/118

 everywhere ready to leap forward to the defence of the country if she is menaced, and the cry that is raised by some few Socialists that they care nothing whether an alien power rules or whether the workers are kept in chains by native capitalists, is found not to stand the test of experience. Jaurès considered this was as true in the present day as ever, for the nation is in his view a permanent actuality, and as regards the sentiment of nationality he showed an insight not shared by some Socialists who have since recanted their anti-nationalist views.

All war of adventure was in Jaurès' view unutterably disastrous for the people, and every effort ought to be made to avert war of every kind. Nevertheless, the country must be prepared for defensive warfare and be so invincible as to make invasion practically impossible.

Jaurès did not believe this position to have been reached in France; in fact, he considered that the military authorities were wilfully throwing away a large part of the strength of France—madly weakening her when she needed all her force. France has conscription, but by the constitution of her army she is not really relying on universal service. The military authorities, weakly desirous of imitating a military power like Germany, tend to rely too much on the army in barracks and too little on the citizen army outside. The young men of twenty or