The San Francisco call., 1910-12-20
COAST UNPREPARED
FOR ---LAUCk
Adjntant General Criticises Gill
lett, Mccarthy and
Webb
Appropriation for Armory and
Equipment in This City
Not Spent

SACRAMENTO, Dec. '19.-The Cali
iornla coast is. totally unprepared for
war, believes Adjutant General J. b
Lauek, on account of too small a militia
force which has been kept small
through the failure of the armory
board, consisting of Governor Gillett
attorney General Webb and Mayor Nc
Carthy of San Francisco, to expend
S42o'ooo appropriated at the last legis-
lature for an armory and equipment
In San Francisco.
we should have 16 companies OF
coast artillery, IA of them at San Fran
CISCO" said Lauck today, whereas al
present we have but nine, seven in Sar
francisco and two in San Diego. The
war department desires us to organize
more companies.
our great difficulty is not in or
ganlzlng, but rather in securing hous-
ing facilities. If we had buildings suit
able for housing and taking care OF
organization, similar to those they have
in other large cities, there is no oues-
tlon In my mind but that we would
nave full ranks and more men thar
we really need. Sufficient appropria-
tion Tor such building for San Fran
CISCO, amounting to $4,000, was made
by the legislature two years ago, but
SO far not a shovelful of earth has
been turned to make the construction
OF that building possible.
San Francisco has the best fortified
harbor in the world, but how far do we
have to go to see another fortified place
on the coast? The nearest fortified
place is San Diego, 500 miles distant
Great gods That's proper protection
Again, on the north we have to &c
clear up to Washington to the mouth
of the Columbia river before we fine
more fortification.
II see nothing to prevent transports
from landing troops anywhere around
these intermediate points and coming
inland and taking possession of all the
transportation lines and passes. WhC
or what is going to stop them?
You have got to have a mobile army
to do these things and there are not
sufficient men in our present army
There could not be more than 5000
men of our own army, if that many
landed about the coast here in two
months time. L am not at all ar
alarmist. 1 don't say that there viii
be war, or anything of the kind. but
1 know, as every military man knows
| that we are not properly equipped.
think we have something like 309,54.
men subject to military duty in this
state, yet out of that number our de-
fensive establishment numbers only
1000 men of all arns-coast artillery
infantry, cavalry. signal corps anC
naval military. That is a very small
percentage of the number of mer
available"
General Lauck believes also that the
antipathy of employers having theil
employees serve in the state militia i.
doing much to retard the growth ot
the organization.
''WAen we take into consideration
he said. that these young men join the
militia for the sole purpose of gaining
knowledge of military tactics and fol-
patriotism, without receiving one cent
from either the state or nation, and
then are often threatened with dis
charge by their employers if they &C
to camp, we can readily understand
why we have not a bigger force in the
organized militia