The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1912-03-29
WAR WITH MEXICO
CALLS FOR CAVALRY
In Case the United States l~nterveres
More Cavalry Than We Now
Have viii 81 Needed-De-
mand for Horses.
lie PoWER Of rHE cAvALRY.


to reduce the cavalry strength OF In
army by one-third of it's present OF
ganized strength and their argument
appear to furnish convincing proc
that the position taken by the Hous,
military affairs committee presumabl.
in the interests of economy, is no
tenable.
The conditions on the Mexican Dor
der today emphasize the importanc,
Of the cavalry arm of the service
The cavalry is the mobile branch o
the army, a mounted infantry, in facJ
rliemen on horseback, capable 0
marching six miles an hour, attach
ing and carrying positions that Nigh
be intrenched and made assault proc.
before the infantry could interfere
with the movement. The history o.
all ouT wars shows that the cavalry
has done the most effective work il
great fanking and turning movements
performing service that would be ply.
sically impossible for infantry col
umns.
Under the modern equipment the
cavalrymen do not depend upon theiI
swords and pistols. They use the
same weapon as the infantrymen and,
for man, are equal to the foot
soldier in an engagement and are far
more effective in the swift movements
upon which a victory so often depends.
The important element of a we'll
equipped cavalry force, which the wise
meR in Congress appear to have over
looked, is the fact that cavalry cannot
be hurriedly volunteered and
whipped into fighting shape. Their
skill depends not only upon the train
Ing Of the men, but upon the training
of the horses, and this cannot be i'm
proyised. The mounted mar who is
not a horseman is an element os weak
instead Of strength in the cavalry.
Horsemen in this country are difficult
to obtain. The training OF cavalrymen
requires plenty OF time and much la
Dor.
One Of the great difficulties our
country would have In time of war
would be that of procuring suitable
mounts. The supply of suitable mounts
in u country is growing less eacL
year. The breeding of such animals
can be promoted only by having a
demand for them in time of peace.
Such a demand can be stimulated by
keeping a strong mounted force in Il
army in time Of peace, and as can be
shown the difference in cost between
keeping mounted and dismounted
troops is very small indeed.
The plea Of economy made by the
House leaders who are seeking to re,
duce the cavalry arm of the service is
that this branch costs so much more
than does the infantry arm. Statistics
show that the maintenance Of a cav
alryman, including his mount, costs
about one-third more than that of the
infantryman. This does not appear
excessive and. regardless of the dol
lars and cents phase of the case,
should not be considered If the pro-
posed reduction threatens to reduce
efficiency of the fighting force. It
Is absolutely important to have a large
Of trained cavalry on an out
break Of war, particularly with our
or Southern ~neighbors. 1t is
a well known fact that the Mexicans
are almost universally horsemen-live
On their horses-and in case of war it
would be an easy matter for them to
obtain horses and trained riders, but
his is not the case in the United
Fifteen regiments OF cavalry
a population of 100000 900 in a
country with S,700,OOO square miles OF
territory, with various outlying de-
tendencies, is a very small force, a
much smaller percentage of cavalry
han maintained by France, Germany,
Austria and England, where the need
cavalry operations is much less
than in this country.
The only cavalry that we need con-
is that which Is trained and
ready at the very beginning, the regu.
ar cavalry. Modern war Is too short
md decisive to give any time for or
and training cavalry. 1t is
the infantry alone in which our
and volunteers can be effective.
We all know that our shamefully
small regular army will form hardly
a nucleus Of the army that would
at once necessary for war even
much bersted Mexico.
II We we're called upon to 60 into
Mexico II would require moro than all
The cavalry we have in the United
The work OF rounding up the
scattered enemy would fall almost en-.
-irely upon the cavalry. The two re.
cent disturbances there show that a
hard campaign in Mexico is an ever
present possibility.
We have then right on our border
1 situation that may at any moment
demand more cavalry than we can OBJ
ain. The necessity Of a large cavalry
in a war with any hrst class
power Of course would be imperative
and immediate and all the peace so
that the world will ever see
can not give the least assurance that