The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1914-07-09
RESERVE ARMY
AMERICAS NEED
Must Have Il TO Maintain Our
Position, Says Wood.
ADVOCATES SUMMER CAMPS

IN tAooTeU0 20 otuOenIS 1e ! ale TO 6A.
plains tho Duties Of a Member Of
These Camps and Urges College, Men
In All Parts Of Nation to Affiliate
With Them.
New Haven, Conn.-Just before the
outbreak Of the war with Mexico Cen
eral Wood, commanding general of the
army, asserted that the United States
needed large reserve army, not for
war, but to prevent war.
General Wood originated the idea Of
students camps of military instruc-
ton, and he was working up enthusiasm
among collegians for the four camps
which will be held this summer. He
holds they will do much to develop off,
GERS for volunteer army If needed.
There is good reason for these
camps" he said in addressing the Yale
students. "The United States. always
a great power, has recently become a
world power in the broadest sense Of
the term. All sorts Of new responsible
tiles are confronting us. We in the
army do not believe in large standing
army, but we are all Of US believers in
well prepared people-believers in
that preparedness does not mean war,
but that it means avoidance of war.
eve know that arbitration is very
effective. Every soldier works for ar.
bitration, just as every life saver ON
the beach works for any apparatus o.
device which will minimize the risk OF
bathers. He is not going to shirk his
duty to 50 into the storm when it
comes, but he is going to try to avoid
all unnecessary loss Of life.
1--WE men responsible for the military
preparedness Of the country-and +
mean preparedness in the technical
sense-are doing all we can to get the
country ready. We know perfectly
we'll that the regular army is only a
drop in the bucket and that when the
militia is added you get but slightly
larger drop. Consider that in the civil
war there were more than 100000
men in the army Of the north and more
than 100000 in the army of the south
and then you will realize that our call
for 100000 competent men is not a
large estimate.
I'VE don't want large standing
army, but we want to see this idea
worked out, as in Switzerland, where
the bulk Of the people have had a mill.
tary training without interfering with
their economic or professional lives.
This sums up what we want to do. No
nation has ever lived which allowed
other people to do its work or its fight
ing. 1t is all right to talk about arbi-
tration, but there are certain vital
questions which can never be arbl-
trated. They must be fought out.
I'm this country we must look to our
volunteers in time Of war. The great
bulk of our fighting force comes from
the people themselves First comes
the regular army, then the militia. but
the greatest numbers and strength are
from the volunteer forces. We can't
take officers from the regular army
and from the militia to direct these
great numbers. We must instruct a
volunteer officers force In times Of
peace.
In these summer camps we will
learn something not only Of military
art, but Of military history. You learn
something Of military reserves. They
are as important to the army as are
substitutes in the football game when
one Of the regulars Is injured. We
must have men to build up organiza.
tons which can maintain the maxi.
mum strength. War at present IS short
and forceful. Two we'll organizes
forces meet, and the superiority is 5000
decided.