The Washington herald., 1914-12-06

Only one OF the great nations of the
earth is more helpless to defend itself
on land than the United States. This is
China. We have not even such a mo-
bile army as Belgium. while compared
with Servias military establishment,
our own looks pitiable.
These and like eye-opening facts are
now being dinned into American ears
by well-informed public men. They
are of all political parties, for, so far,
neither Democrats. Republicans or
officially espousing this issue. so sud-
denly grown OF overshadowing impor-
tanCe.
No political party from now on can
ignore this issue, however. and II is
not a risky prediction to say that some
party will soon be making a national
campaign on the platform OF national
preparedness for trouble.
No amount of argument, of theory,
OF discourses on the yellow peril"
could impress this nation as four
months of the great European war
have done. Without taking sides in
this conflict, observers from this shore
of, the Atlantic almost unanimously
have drawn the conclusion that right
Cousness and treaties, together or sin
ely, cannot protect a people when war
mounted on an idiot horse" comes rid
ing their way.
The speaker denouncing our military
state is embarrassed by the wealth OF
material The greatest anxiety is ap-
parent in the minds Of the best in
formed.
Whole Force One Corps.
The navy, even if no longer the sec
Ond strongest in the world, is formid-
able compared to the army. According
s1,a hi faf
Of staff, Mai. Gen W. w. Wother-
spoon, a document which is likely to
become historic, the actual fighting
strength of the army with the colors.
and without deductions for officers and
men sick. on furlough. detached serv-
ice" etc, is 2,TSS officers and $3.50
men.
This is a single army corps, that unit
Of European campaigns which sounds
so small in the present cable news.
But it does not mean an army crops
drawn up on shore at the point where
an enemy is trying to land This little
mobile force is scattered all through
the forty-eight States. Alaska, Porto
Rico, Hawaii, and the Philippines.
Theodore Roosevelt has recently
pointed out how easily a strong power
could seize the great cities of Boston,
New York and Philadelphia and de-
mand billions of dollars from the in
habitants. That would not be con-
0uering the country, of course. The
Middle West and the Pacific States
might resist for years. slowly arm and
even finally drive out the invader, but
at a fearful cost in lives and money.
The defense question stares Congress
in the face next month in the shape of
a resolution introduced by Representa-
tive Augustus r. Gardner, Of Massa-
Chusetts, for the creation of a national
~
consist of three Senators. to be ap-
pointed by the President of the Senate;
three Representatives, to be appointed
by the Speaker of the House, and
three other persons to be appointed by
the President. They are to investigate
and report upon the preparedness of
the United States for war. defensive or
offensive.
Needs of Navy.
Representative Gardner is the most
active exponent of better military prep
arations in the National Legislature. |
He declares:
We should have forty-seven battle |
ships, built and building. Instead. we |
have twenty-eight electives, with four |
scrap-iron relics and eight venerable !
survivors. We need 1877 destroyers. |
ready or on their way: we have fifty |
worth the name, with sixteen which are /
jokes we neeQ lhlrly-nlne IaSI scout |
cruisers. but we have only three.
with our limitless coastline, our |
submarine strength is fourth among |
ME worlds navies. We have an aver |
age of about five torpedoes to each tor |
pedo tube in our feet. but three-quar-
ters of them are the old short-range |
variety and should be scrappe6.
I'VE have not a single dirigibIe bal |
loon. We have not a single armored /
aeroplane. What aeroplanes we have
are too few to reckon.
Our navy is now short $4,000 men,
according to Assistant Secretary of the