The San Francisco call., 1904-12-30
BRITAIN NEEDS
A BETTER ARMY
"Little BObs" Frankly Dis
cusses Shortcomings of
England's Fighting Force
HE OPPOSES CONFUSION
Field Marshal Says War in
South Africa Made Plain
AlbiOn'S Weakness in Field

LONDON. Dec. 29.-"The Army as It
Was and as 1t Is TO Be" Is the text
under which Field Marshal Earl Rob-
erts, in the January Nineteenth Cen
tury, reads BritOns a noteworthy lecture
on the duty OF all classes IL Great Brit
ain would meet the demands Of modern
warfare. After frankly pointing out
existing deficiencies, Earl Roberts
writes:
A terrific lesson awaits the nation whose sol
diers find themselves opposed BY equally brave
but better trained opponents on the held OF bat
tie No amount OF money, no national sAeri-
Aces Will then avail. for modern warfare moves
fast. and time lost in peace can never be
made up during tbe stress Of eampaisn- I
hold this view very strongly and would ur9e
my fellow countrymen with al the force a.
my command 70 look the plain facts in ths
face.
Earl Roberts does not advocate COM
pulsory service, because it is distaste-
ful to the nation and Incompatible with
the conditions Of an army which has a
large proportion Of units in foreign SER
vice" but maintains that Great Britain
must have a large reserve force. He
continues:
II the citizens OF 50 great and prosperous .
nation as ours are TO remain exempt from
compulsory service In time OF peace without
the safety Of the empire being endangered.
the right class OF men must be attracted 70 the
regular army BY good conditions OF pay and
state TO that every able-bodied man In
this country. no matter 70 what grade OF so
ciety he may belong. NsndergOes some kind ok
military training IN youth sufficient 70 enable
him to shoot straight and carry out simple
orders II ever his services are required for na-
tionaI defense.
Earl Roberts Interestingly reviews
the changes Of the last fifty years, de-
scribes the military system prior to the
Crimean War and points out how the
introduction Of modern guns necessi-
tated the complete abolishment Of the
idea that men must be mere machines.
Officers, he says, are no longer directly
able to control the men, because the
fighting formation has been changed,
and therefore the men must have a far
higher standard Of individual intelli-
gence, while among the officers intellt-
gence, self-reliance and type OF leading.
men must be on a proporttonately
higher level
The sooner this is realized to the full
est extent, Earl Roberts says. the bet
ter for all ranks when the hour OF trial
comes.
Earl Roberts says the report Of the
committee on the war in South Africa
made IL clear that much is still needed
before Great Britain has an army Mt in
all respects for war with a modern for
eign power. Among other things, he
said she must have a larger proportion
Of mounted troops for rapid reinforce
ment and in order to quickly seize
points of vantage. He refers to the
action Of the Government in ordering
new duick-firing guns for the complete
re-equipment Of the army.
simultaneously with Earl Roberts
article, it is officially announced that
$50 batteries will be supplied with new
guns at a cost Of 800. 900 and that
the order will be executed within twen-
ty months