The Washington herald., 1912-01-10
ARMY LAW BAD,
DECLARES DU POINT
Senator Would Have Less
"Confusion and Disorder"
MILITIA VS.. THE VOLUNTEERS
soIdIer-soIOn shows that Measure
Passed I'm 1sO5 Fails to Dis
dnsuish Between Two Glasses of
soldiers and Has Made Speedy
Mobilization Impossible.

Before a well-hIled and interested SEN
ate yesterday afternoon, Senator Henry
A. Du Pont. chairman OF the Committee
on Military, ana a veteran OF the civil
war, sounded warning against the ex-
Isting law, providing for the raising OF
a volunteer army, while calling atten-
ton to the new measure drawn up to
eliminate the confusion and disorder"
which, he said, exists now.
Besides his long service on the Military
Affairs Committee and the Committee on
Coast Defense, Senator Du Pont drew on
his recollection OF conditions existing
during the civil war to point out the
dangers in a law prepared ''piecemeal'
during the haste and confusion pre-
ceding the Spanish-American war.
Nations Artillery scant.
In beginning his address the Senator
called attention TO the fact that on the
scientific basis accepted by military ex-
perts this country was woefully weak in
field artillery. Germany had guns to
1000 rifles and France had 8 during the
war Of 1870. This nation to-day has 2
field guns. the Senator said, and with the
full complement Of material would have
only ] gun to 1000 rifles, or 600 guns less
than are needed. He then proceeded to
point out the vagueness of the present
law and its apparent failure to distin-
guish between the standing militia drawn
from the civilian class In time Of peace)
and the volunteer army, which was TO
do service in time OF war. The present
law was faulty, he said: wholly made
quate to a speedy and proper organiza-
ton of n volunteer force.
He quoted President Taft and other
eminent authorities to show that the
evils of the present law were well un-
derstood by them.
speech Well Received.
Throughout the speech those Senators
present listened intently, recognizing as
they did that the chairman OF the Com
mittee on Military Affairs was one OF
the men best able to decide upon laws
of this kind. Senator Du Pont was
graduate Of West Point at the outbreak
OF the civil war, and was discharged
from service with the rank Of brevet
colonel This accounts, in part, for deep
consideration given the speech. At Its
conclusion expressions OF approval were
heard on all sides.
The Address in Part.
The speech, in part, follows:
The Committee on Military Affairs has
incorporated in the bill an important
amendment, which, perhaps, 1t would be
well to explain. The text Of this amend
ment, in the shape of a proviso at the
close of the sixth section Of the bill, reads
as follows:
THAT when the raising OF a volunteer
force shall nave been authorized by Con-
gress, and after the organized militia OF
any arm or class shall have been called
into the service of the United States, vol
unteers Of that particular arm or class
may be raised and accepted into said
service in accordance with the terms OF
this act regardless of the extent TO which
other arms or classes of said militia shall
have been called into said service
THE amendment in question is intended
to obvIate difficulty which might arise
in the future and involve the government
in an immense and wholly unnecessary
expense. The section OF the Dick law
heretofore quoted provides that all Of the
organized militia shall be called into the
service of the United States In advance
of any volunteer forces which II may be
determined to raise. Now. Mr.. President,
II It were decided, for instance, to call
out T5,O 900 infantry troops of the organized
militia. together with all the militia field
artillery, we would have. so far as the
militia is concerned, a near approximation
to well-balanceo military force, but the
100000 men of the regular army still lack
about thirty-four field batteries
The natural way to supply the de-
would be to call for a sufficient
force of volunteer field artillery: but
at this Juncture. the President and
Congress would be met by the section
of the Dick law which provides. as Just
stated. that the whole organized mil
itia shall be called into the service OF
the United States in advance of any
volunteer force which it may be de-
termined to raise. This means. unless
the legislation just quoted be amended,
that as a preliminary 1t would be i'm
perative to call out, even IL their serv-
ice were not required, the remainder
of the organized militia, exclusive of
the $4,000 troops already mentioned. |
on a war footing. almost |
$50, 900 men. This. it is obvious, would |
commit the country to a vast and en- |
tirely useless expense.
Mr.. President, Senate bill isis, which |
comes from the committee with its unan-
mous approval, has involved a great |
ieal of very careful and very laborious |
It has the fun indorse-
ment and approval OF the War Depart |
nent, notwithstanding the fact that it |