Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-20
Adjutant General BIames Armory
Board for Failure to Ex-
pend Appropriation
BIGGER MILITIA FORCE URGED
Mobile Army to RepeI Foe from
Unfortified Harbors Ad-
vocated by Official
Associated Press1

SACRAMENTO, Dec. 19.-The Cali
fornia coast is totally unprepared for
war, Adjutant General j. b. Lauck be-
lieves, 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
Mccarthy of San Francisco, to expend
$420,000 appropriated at the last legis-
lature for an armory and equipment in
San Francisco.
eve should have sixteen companies
of coast artillery, fourteen of them at
San Francisco said Lauck today,
"whereas at present we have but nine,
seven in San Francisco and two in
San Diego. That's what the war de-
partmcnt desires, for us to organize
more companies.
"Our great difficulty Is, not in or
ganizng. but rather in securing hous-
ing facilities. If we had buildings
suitable for housing and taking care
of an organization similar to those they
have in other large cities there is no
question in my mind but that we
would have full ranks and more men
than we really need. Sufficient ap-
preparation for such a building for
San Francisco, it amounted to 100000,
was made by the legislature two years
ago. but SO far not shovel of earth
has been turned to make the construc-
tion of that building possible.
500 MILES UNPROTECTED
"San Francisco has the best fortified
harbor in the world, yet how far do
we have to go to see another fortified
place on the coast? The next fortified
place is down at San Diego, 800 miles
distant Great gods! That's proper
protection. Again on the north, we
nlo 10 AYnu 1iror Tn
the mouth of the Columbia river, be-
fore we find more fortifications.
Il see no reason for anything to pre-
vent transports from landing troops
from anywhere around those interior
points and coming inland and taking
possession of all the transportation
lines and passes. Who OF what Is go
ing to stop them?
"You haYe got to have mobile army
to do these things and you have not
sufficient men in your present army.
There could not be in excess of 5000
men of our own army, if that many,
landed about the coast here in two
months time. l am not at all an alarm
list. | don't say that there will be war
or anything of the kind, but l know
as every military man knows. that We
are not properly equipped l think we
have something like 309,542 men sub
ject to military duty in this state, yet
out of that our defensive establish
ment numbers only about 40CO men of
all arms-coast artillery, infantry,
cavalry, signal corps and naval mill
tary. That is a very smll percentage
for the number of men available"
General Lauck believes also that the
antipathy of employers toward having
their employees serve in the state mill
tia is doing much to retard the growth
of the organization.
''When we take into consideration
he said, "that these young men join
the militia for the sole purpose of gain.
ing knowledge in the military line and
for patriotism, without one cent of rev.
enue from either lie state or nation,
and then are often threatened by their
employers that if they go to camp they
will be discharged, we can readily un-
derstand why we have not bigger
force in the organized military"