Daily Kennebec journal., 1914-01-08
FOR
MILITIA, ARMY.
Maj. Gen. Wood, Chief Of
Staff, So Advises.
Would Spend 100000 on
Regulars, 100000 on Militia.
Neither Guns Nor Ammunition for
Assurance of Success" He Says.

| Washington, Jan. 7.-Explaning that
his judgment was not Influenced by the
Mexican situation, Maj. Gen. Wood. /
/ chief of staff of the army, has advised I
i committees OF Congress that it should
| appropriate 100000 for field guns and
ammunition for the regular army and
| $3,00o,Q00 for the militia.
| IF you sent our troop into war as
/ they are now, without guns or ammu-
| milton, 1t would be absolute slaughter"
/ the general told the House military
/ committee. IF called into the field |
! suddenly, we should have to go with
a very small allowance of ammuni- |
| tion oven for the guns in the hands of
troops and we should have neither
! guns nor ammunition enough for our
| field artillery forces
| General Wood, in written state
| ment said:
I'VE have neither guns nor ammuni-
tion sufficient to give any general COM
manding an army in the field any as
surance of success il attacked by an
army of equal size. which is supplied
with its proper quota of field artillery.
1t is my belief that no modern war
[ w w
one year and unless private manufac-
turers are now encouraged to manufac-
| ture ammunition for our use after war
/ Is declared they will not be in a con-
/ dltion to do so until after the war is
] finished and the supply of ammunition
during the war will be limited to what
the arsenals can turn out. At present
this is about 1900 rounds a day, running
/ oh nd &c
der ordinary battle conditions would
be fred by eight guns in one day of
j battle. If guns are not supplied bat
tlefielG with the ammunition they are
/ expected to use they are not efficient
as after the ammunition is exhausted
i they are worse than junk for they
!. must be supported by other troops.
/ 1.-The war. department believes after eX
tended study that in case of war with a
first class power an army of 10000 men
will be needed to give this country any
chance of success against invasion and
that this force will be needed at once.
To make it efficient it must be given it's
| proper quota of field artillery. To do
this the artillery must be on hand, for it
cannot be supplied after war is started.
A municipality might as well talk about
buying its fire hose after the confagra-
tion has started. a fire department with
out it's proper equipment is worthless,
irrespective of the number of men it has;
and would your armies be unless you
provide in peace the material which will
make them effective in war"
The general suggested rnat the United
States regular mobile army should be
organized into three infantry and two
cavalry divisions with an aggregate war
strength of about 1900, requiring "a bat
teres of 216 guns.
With the cooperation of the state gov
ernors the militia, he said, now could
/ be organized into IL infantry and five
auxiliary divisions with an aggregate
war strength of $4,000 men, needing ia
batteries or 696 guns. The aggregate of
the two forces thus would be S67 ,008 men,
or approximately two field armies short
of the force of $4,000 men, These two
field armies will require 16S pieces of S36
guns The United States garrisons
abroad have 6e guns.
Noting that the militia has in it's
hands about 81 per cent. of the guns
| it should have. the general added, ITO
summarize, for the regular army and
volunteers we would need $50 guns, |
for the militia 696 guns"
General Wood said that total ap-
preparations up to October 10 last by |
the House military and appropriation
committees provide for only 245,09S |
rounds of ammunition for the modern |
! field guns, all of which ammunition |
will not be manufactured until June |
| 80 next.
of this ammunition he added we |
! have at present in this country 1885,, |
| sos rounds and for the 2.95 mountain |
gun 1906 rounds, or a total of POI ,614 |
rounds. And this is all we have. AT |
Mukden in nine days, the 1904 Rus
sian guns expended 250,000 rounds.
THE present daily output of the |
ordnance factories, for three shifts |
running night and day is not above |
1000 rounds. The war department was |
regular army with obsolete seven inch |
howitzers, and five-inch siege gun bat
teries material because of lack of suf-
ficent ammunition for the modern |
guns
The war department is trying to ac-
cumuate 1892 field guns of various |
calibres, of which 753 have yet TO be |
appropriated for. General Wood said |
it was not his idea that the country |
should be constantly armed to the |
teeth in preparation for any war, but |
that it should be reasonably prepared |
for war, most decidedly so because |
these things cannot be made for years, !
lContinuad on Page TwoA