Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-10

and complete equipments ready for march
ing. Each has his instructions as to just
what he is to do in case of telegram
from the war department. He knows
what railroad station he is to go to- what
train to take and for what point. The
plans are such that although Switzerland
has but a small standing army. it coulu
call force of two or three hundred thou
sand together within a few days Service
In the national force is compulsory and
universal, those excused or rejected pay
ing extraordinary taxes. The first train
ing is gotten in the recruit schools. where
the men are required to serve sixty five
days for the infantry and the foot artillery.
seventy-five days for the field artillery
and ninety days for the cavalry. After
that they serve eleven days annually.
Physical exercises and military training
are given also to the schoolboys in the
public schools, and a result the Swiss
might have a comparatively large army
strength in time of war. The Swiss army
is a national militia. and a militia so
trained would be very valuable to US
But that, Of course, is impossible. We
do not want compulsory military educa
ton in this country, but We might largely
increase our force of trained men in pri-
vate life by making the regular army a
training school into which men might go
then return to private life to give place
to Others"
THAT is the proposed scheme for the
national reserve, is it not?'
'Yes, that is one Of the proposed plans.
The idea is to make the army a great
military training school and to pass
through 1t as many men as possible in
order to form from them a reserve upon
which we could call in time of war. They
would not be called out to subdue riots
or strikes, but would be only used for the
defense of the nation. AS it is now about
thirty thousand men annually leave the
army or the militia for civil life. If we
could keep our hold upon these men and
bring them together for a few days Of
training and maneuver each year we
would in time build up a large reserve
fighting force. One idea was to cut down
the term of enlistment to two years in
stead of three and to have the service eX-
pire at that time. This would bring a
thirty to fifty thousand into military
training every year. and it would add that
many each year to our reserve fighting
force. In six years at fifty thousand We
might have three hundred thousand men
in the national reserve and with the army
and militia be then able to command ii
time of war half million we'll trained
soldiers. The national reserve woulC
have short periods of military training
each year or every other year. and they
would be expected to continue their train
ing for six years thereafter. The total
time consumed in this way during the six
years would be about six months, or an
average of one month per year. One
idea would be to pay them something like
81 per month throughout the year, and
for this they would keep informed OF
their addresses and their movements.
This plan would keep our army
composed Of young men and the national
reserve would be greatly increased as
time goes on. A young man going into
the regular service at twenty and leaving
it at twenty-five would be in the national
reserve proper until he was twenty-eight,
but if the nation demanded it he might
make one of the units of an efficient
fighting force for almost twenty years
thereafter. or until he was forty-four or
forty EIGHT years old. In the Swiss re-
serve the liability of service extends from
the seventeenth to the end Of the forty
eighth year. and the actual service be-
gins at the age of twenty
But it would take millions of money
to supply the arms and ammunition for
such a force?"
'Of course" replied the general, but
the army is place where one cannot
economize as to it's supplies. The only
way to stop the waste is to stop the
fighting and often the great expenditure
of arms ammunition and men in battle
is real economy. In time of war you
cannot count the cost. The only way
to economize is by stopping the fighting.
and that through victory. AS it is now,
we are adding to our arms and ammunl-
ton as rapidly as possible, and we shall