The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1914-12-10
Representative Card
ner Discusses Reso-
luton He introduced
in the House
WILSON'S BOGEY
MAN OF STRAW
Answers President by aging If War
We're to Break Out To-day Coast
Defenses Would Not Have Ammuni-
tion for Hours Combat
By Associated Press.


Washington, Dec. 1O.-Representa-
tive Gardner addressed the House to-
day ON his resolution for investigation
of the preparedness of the nation for
war. He prefaced his remarks by an
nouncing that he had introduced a bill
to enact into law Secretary Garrison s
recommendation, in his annual report
published to-day, to recruit the United
States army to its full waf strength.
A large portion of his speech Mr..
Gardner devoted to an analysis of Pres
ident Wilson's references to national
defense in his annual address to Con-
gress Tuesday. He declared the Presi-
dent had set up ga bogey man of
straw" and that "if war were to break
out to-day it would be found our coast
defenses have not sufficient ammunition
for an hours fighting.
Depending Upon Citizenry
We must depend in every time of
national peril upon citizenry trained
and accustomed to arms, says the Pres
ident, said Representative Gardner
"But how are we to get enough citizen
ry, as he calls us ordinary people9
Does the President realize that there
are only 10000 militia men in this
whole nation? Does he understand that
$4,000 of them did not even show up
last year for annual inspection Does
he know that 81, 200 did not appear at
the annual encampmenti Is he aware
that 53, 1000, cr nearly half of this citi-
zenry, never appeared at the rifle range
during the whole course of last yearf
Where is this citizenry to get the
weapons of war? According to the
last report of the chief of staff, we are
short 316 field guns and 1,322,3S4
rounds of ammunition necessary to
equip our military in time of war. Last
year General Wood asked for enough
guns and ammunition to bring the
United States up to the standard of Bull
garia. That immodest demand was re-
jected.
The Things That We Lack
u will not say that we have only
enough field artillery ammunition to
last for single days battle if all our
guns were engaged, but / will say that
such is the statement which has been
made to me by one of the highest Off
GERS in the United States army. I
do not, however, hesitate to assert that
If war were TO break out to-day it
would be found that our coast defenses
have not sufficient ammunition for an
hour s fighting.
''Our officers and officials have told
us that we lack men for our navy, men
for our coast defense and men for our
army; that we lack artillery and the
ammunition with which to charge that
artillery; that we lack great warships
to sail the seas and little scouts to act
as their messengers and their eyes; that
we have sadly deficient under-sea
navy and practically no overhead fleet
at all.
~ have proposed that an indepen-
dent commission be appointed to in
vestigate all these things, to recon-
mend to us a definite policy for our
future guidance.
What Carnegie Has to Show
''For the first time in the history of
This country so far as / know a COM
mittee of this House has refused
hearing to one of the Houses men,
bers.
Arbitration! What a grand word
All that Carnegie has to show for his
money is an unprepared England and
an unprepared Belgium. Possibly /
ought to accord him one other scalp to
his tomahawk, although. that scalp is
made of imitation hair. The pacifcists
boast that their efforts have at least
made every nation disclaim the respon.
sibility for the war. Had Belgium, like
Switzerland and Holland. put more con-
fidence in hec troops and less in scraps
of paper she might to-day be free from
the agony of invasion.
"Yet, every scrap of paper to which
America puts her sign manual must be
scrupulously redeemed. Come what may,
we must fulfill our treaty obligations,
even if every other nation on earth is
false. But suppose that at some future
time we find our path beset by nations
with smaller consciences and larger
howitzers-what then7 Shall we de-
fend ourselves with mammoth rolls of
Sunday school signatures or shall we
place our dependence in chautauqua lee
tures?''