The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1913-11-19
MILITARY FAIRY TALES

According to. an Associated Press
dispatch from Washington, "for the
first time iii history Uncle Sam is IL
readiness, at a moments notice, tt
arm and equip 100000 men in the
event of war"
Reading further we discover that 9
"plan'' for doing all this has been
"worked out during the last six years
through the systematic and unremit
ting labor of Lieutenant Colonel J. T
Thompson, under the direction of Bri
gadier General William Crozier,"
We know nothing about Colonel
Thompson. On the face of the record
he must be a studious officer, says the
Inter-Ocean. General Crozier is an
ordnance specialist of international
reputation. But when we read still
further we are compelled to doubt
the statemtnt first quoted.
For we read that under the plan"
the regular army would be increas-
ed" to it's maximum strength; the "en-
tire organized militia" would be mus
tered in "at full war strength" and
the remainder would be raised by the
enlistment of volunteers"
All of which shows tnat the gov
eminent is not Gin readiness, at a
moments notice." to PUT 100000 men
into the field, but merely has what
is regarded as a good plan" for do
ing it. And a 'plan" isn't an army.
The plain truth is that we haven't
even potentially, ready for service at
short notice 100000 soldiers or any
thing like that number. The present
strength of the regular army, in the
mainland United States, Is $4,000
men. These are ready for service"
so far as they are actually in the
army and are not rather recent re-
cruits.
Now that the talk in Washington
is again in the direction of interven-
ton in Mexico the Washington cor
respondents gather hints Of an expe-
dictionary force of 10000 to 100000
men. But to make up that number
they are compelled to suppose that
the 10000 coast artillerymen will be
drafted from their posts of duty and
sent into Mexico as Infantry!
We don't suppose for a moment
that the war department or any re-
sponsible man in it authorized such a
delusive statement as that first quot
ed above. Probably some second as
sistant deputy clerk gossiped about
the plan" to a Washington reporter
and he put on this gossip an interpre-
tation not justified by the facts and
productive of a dangerous self-com-
placency.
Army officers are practically for
hidden, by somewhat silly regulations
to talk about service matters for pub
LEGATION. But if their statements in
private conversation may be trusted
the United States has neither artil.
lery MOI ammunition for it, nor even
small arms and cartridges for them,
ready, to equip" an army of 500, 600
men at "a moments notice." and
couldn't do it under several months,
Furthermore, it takes about a year
properly to train an infantry soldier
at least eighteen months to train 9
cavalry IldA anu Aio liOloO oiu ehAOS
or four year to make a complete ar
tilleryman.
When we permit ourselves to for
get these vital facts and our mind:
to be filled with such fairy-tale infer
ences as are quoted in the first para
graph above we encourage congress
men in the attitude Of almost Grimm
al neglect of the army out of whicl
we will some day fill the whole ma
ton with rage and shame.