"And if they tried to fight us, what would happen to them? Our nation is
unique in an important respect. Its individuals are the best armed in
the world. Not only, for example, are its farmers armed, but they can
shoot, which is far more than can be said of those of Britain or of any
other nation.
"The Governments of Europe cannot afford to give their citizenry arms,
and, as for the European citizenry, it not only cannot afford to
purchase arms, but cannot afford even to pay the license fees which
Government demands of those possessing arms with the right to use them.
"But ours? Most Americans can afford to and do own guns with which to
shoot, and, furthermore, most Americans, when they shoot, can hit the
things at which they shoot.
"Combine this powerful protective influence with the fact that thousands
of any army coming to invade us would not want to fight when once they
got here, but would want to settle here and enjoy peace, and we find
that we thus are protected as no nation in the world ever has been
protected or can be.
"Imagine the effect upon the European fighting man's psychology if he
found that an army transport had conveyed him to a land where one man's
privilege is every man's right! Learning this, it is not a joke to say,
but is a statement of the probable fact, that the invading soldiery
would not want to fire its first volleys, but would want to file its
first papers.
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