The Washington herald., 1914-06-20
FIGURES REVEAL
Army WEAKNESS
Gen. Wotherspoon Points Out
Danger Of Unprepared-
ness for War.
$4,000 MEN AVAILABLE
Entire Strength. 5000. Is Only
Eight Times as Big as New
... York Police Force.
$4,000 men AVAILABLE

1T Is weak and criminal not to pre-
pare for war in time OF peace"
Rear Admiral Richard Wainwright. Z.
S. N. in making this assertion on the
unpreparedness of the United States for
war in general and an invasion OF Mexico
in particular repeated a bromidium that
has been on the lips OF statesmen for
years
But despite the fact that one can hardly
glance at a page in the history of the
world without seeing some pitiable eX-
ample that puts this oft-quoted phrase
in the class, of truisms. the siren OF peace
never fails to lull nations into dreams Of
imagined security.
Regarded as "Agitation."
They think that war is something to be
relegated to the past and that all talk of
preparing for a contingency so remote
Is merely the agitation of alarmists and
military men anxious to ,aggrandize their
profession and exaggerate its Importance.
In Just such a state of indifference
toward military affairs, does the United
States find itself. The possibility Of an
invasion of our sister republic on the
South" has put the question squarely
UP to the people OF the nation. They
have put the United States army in the
balance and have seen the hand-writ-
ing on the wall" The army has not
been found wanting" in its personnel.
however, but in numbers and equip
ment.
Mai. Gen. wotherspoon. Chief Of staff
of the army, who knows as much, IL
not more than any other man In the
country regarding the inner workings
Of military affairs, is one OF the many
who believe that the United States
los faSk in a nngSihla
inva sion of Mexico than II is prepared
for with its small standing army.
There are at present only $4,000 men
of the regular army in the United
States proper prepared to move against
Mexico The entire regular army, COM
prising some $1,000 men. in the opinion
of Gen. wotherspoon, would be but
small unit of the force necessary to
guard the interests now in Mexico
According to Gen. Wotherspoon lit
would take more than 5o0.oc0 men to
guard the different interests in Mexico
allowing 100 men to each interest repre-
senting more than Q,0co.0 900.
Figure. stntS Facts.
Now for a few figures The authorized
standing army OF the United States is
5000 men. only eight times as many
as the police force Of New York City.
But the army Is not enlisted up to Its
fun quota for It numbers at present only
a. 900 men.
Fifty thousand OF this number are sta
toned outside of the United States prop
er, doing duty at our insular posses
sions, leaving but 5000 for the protec-
ton Of the home soil. Twelve thousand
are required for the Philippines alone.
and this number would not suffice should
an Oriental neighbor in that part of
the globe decide to acquire more terri
tory at our expense. Fifteen thousand
men are stationed in Hawaii and the
remaining 23,000 men are apportioned to
Porto Rico and the Panama Canal Zone.
The latter Is another vital point where
more men could well be used should
the United States be forced into HOSTILE
ties.
The United States. in the ''Tampico In
cident." has been fairly confronted with
the question Of preparedness for war