Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-07-30

United Estates comprise in the regular
army eoeut $4,000 men out of total
oil $3.50 authorized. and in the Ma
tiCnal Guard about 125. 600 men The
Rational Guard is not liable for duty
on foreign soil, though it can voIun-
teer for this service.
: Change Enlistment.
In osder to raise the compliment Of
t: aineS men the General Staff propos-
es tokalgment the standing army by
changing the terms of the present en-
Hshmsnt contract to conform to the
5 ptactEte adopted in all other modern
armies.
1T lis only necessary to provide. !"
says che General Staff report, that a
mans service shall consist Of two per-
icds lone period With the colcrs, and
the ether period of war obligation
for z limited time after leaving the
service. Under these circumstances
whes war is declared the active army
lssas once sent into The field am tn.
forTser soldiers having a war obIlga-
tor are assembled in de7ots,. whel e
tie? can be forwarded to the front as
needed. The enlistment contract pro-
posed Is for six years. divided half
ans half. However by far the great
est number of men required for war
purposes under the. plan proposed by
the General stan, will have to De
drSwn from civil life. Under present
conditions. the General Staff points
OFT the only citizen soldiers in the
Ugited States are furnished by the
NJtional Guard, which is under state
control and owes only incidental sup
pert to the federal government. In
TIME OF peace the National Guard can
By used only for interstate purposes,
such as the suppression of strikes or
breaches of the peace, unless in the
very Improbable event that it's called
Upon by the President to serve in
suelling disorder in some state. A re.
sent ruling of Attorney General Wick
frsham declares that under no cir
saimstances ear the National Guard
3e called upon to serve outside of the
United States The General STAFF pro-
poses to give Federal pay to National
.Guardsmen who will comply with fed
:eral standards of asoldiership and who
twill also agree in :time of war to sep
arate themselves from state control
and follow the national colors to any
quarter of the globe. This suggestion,
will, it is thought get around the con-
stitutional provision which regards the
militia wholly as state force. "a
Federal V6i1nteefsE
The second supply of citizen SOL
diers which the General STAFF hopes TOD
create in time of peace for war p4r-
poses viii & pc sogsan1 Ted as .federall
volunteers. These men will sign arti-l
cies to support the National govern
ment in war, but will not be, called
upon to serve in intra-State troubless
save as last resource They are ito
be organized under prearranged plans
when greater oIces are required than
can be furnished Ht the regular army |
and the organized citizen soldiery. The
peace Organization of the regular
srmy with the organized division dis
tricts of the national guard should in !
clude the machinery for the recruiting
organization, and mobilization of this
third great line of national defence"
i
into State and federal volunteers, says
the report, would afford obvious adj
Tantages to all concerned: the Nal
tional Government would know upon |
what forces it could count; the States
could proportion their forces to local
needs and individuals would have the
choice of the particular kind of SER
vice they preferred: that is, State SER
vice with limited war liability or war
servive only, under the national gov-t
eminent"
BY way of increasing the efficiency |
of the army, both regular and Volun-l
teer, it is recommended that the pres
ent complex of units without regularly
grouping be ahsolved. In place of |
taking the regiment as field unit, the
General Staff advocates the creation
OF divisions, consisting of nine regi-
ments each of infantry, and brigades
comprising three regiments each of
cavalry. This plan would necessitate. |
says the report of the General Staff,
an increase in the number of Brigadier /
Generals to seventeen, as against the |
present authorized complement of fl
teen. The number of major generals,
would stay at the present authorize
number of six.
New Divisions.
The organization of the regular +
army or the division basis is declar-
&c to be the moving reason for the
proposal to reduce the number of
ermy posts from forty-nine to eight, a
step which would replace the present
dispersal of the regular land forces by
q greater concentration. 1t is propos- i,
ed to make each of these eight army
posts a division headquarters UNDER
the new arrangement. The rationale
and economic way of disposing of our
troops" says the forthcoming reporti
of the General Staff, in time. of peace
IS to quarter them in simple bur sub
stantial buildings in or near large
towns, where all existing utilities may J.
&c made use Of"
Among the secondary changes rec
by the General Staff is the
many army bureaus whose fields or