The Washington times., 1915-12-10
b|GARMY PLAN
OF GARR|SON'S
PROvESPUzzLE
Frankly Admits He Does Not
Know How Forces For CONT
mental Army Can Be Raised.
COST WILL BE s1s2,oO0,O00
Secretary Scores Those Who
Declare Increases in Army
Are Not Necessary.

~. Administrations military pre-
nsredness policy is outlined today In an
exhaustive report by Secretary OF War
Garrison.
IN his report Secretary Garrison not
only explains in detail the plan for
strengthening the land forces. which
will be presented to Congress in bills
now in preparation, but he merclessly
lashes the opponents Of preparedness
Secretary Garrison's plan, in a nut
shell. is to increase the strength Of the
regular army from 10s.0 900 to 1S1,So0 men:
retain the militia at its present strength
of $4,000 and provide for a new con-
tinental army of 100000 He would in
crease the available military strength
from o37 900 to 67O,s00 men.
The total first years cost is estimated
as s1s2. 900. .oO0.
In adopting this plan Secretary Gar
rson. rejected a plan submitted by War
College. calling for q regular army Of
$4,000 men and a first years expense of
&50G 200. 900.
In Three Classes.
Secretary Garrison divides the op
ponents of preparedness into three
classes. states their arguments and
answers them.
In the first class he puts those "who
do not feel free to base their conduc :
upon consideration of facts or
conclusions of reason. because %
their Interpretation OF divine in
junction.
In the second class he mentions
those who predict that war will never
- IA t-X L,.
therefore precautions for defense are
needless.
In the third class he puts those who
fear that to arm the nation will be
an invitation to use these arms.
The Secretary does not give much
space to the first class which relies
on divine injunction except to sa ;.
that he cannot see any distinction be-
tween using physical force to repei
wrong, and using mental force to re
Pile, error and moral force to repel
evil
As Lasting Evil.
To the second class who predict tina,
there will be no more wars Secretary
Garrison says that wars have com.
upon the nations from the earliest
date of recorded history.
There is no basis and no founda
ton to conclude that this great evi,
has been eliminated" he said, "and
1t therefore must be treated as are
all other existing evils, and must bt
prepared against" He would rest CT
preparedness. not prediction.
Those who counsel inaction because
they mistrust themselves and the ma.
ton, who base their council upon the
expressed fear that II we possess force
We will be induced to use it when we
should not" are accused Of faulty
logic,
This position" Secretary Garrison
said. ignored the fact that il nation,
1t when they should not, some natior
which has such force is likely to use
1t against us when 1t should not. II
assumes that our nation may not .bt
trusted with force for fear that it may
misuse 1t. I know OF nothing which
Justifes such an indictment of our peo
PIE and our nation"
Reply To "Militarism."
Replying to those who raise the or,
Of ''militarism" Secretary Garrison said
THE eyes Of many are blinded t.
fact and their minds closed to reason
BY an adherence Of what they tern
'militarism' without any actual concep
ton of just what this means or how 4
should affect the proper consideration o
the subject. If by militarism they meal
over the civil authority. or IL they mea,
that the ordinary processes of govern
n1ent shall In any way be subservien
10 military authority or infuer"". M
argument Is needed to secure u. nit.
of opinion that this Is not o, lde
slrable but in this country T. bic
II they mean. however, that rea
sonable. sensible precaution of :, mill
tary nature Is militarism. then the.
have reached O. conclusion without tn
aid of clear vision or sound rea soning,
Those who really fear militarism, or
more accurately stated, those VIII
dread real militarism. should be tn
strongest advocates Of reasonable pre-
paration. The latter Is the preventiv
of militarism. If they unwisely defea
country in q condition where the inevi
table result OF defeat, humiliation o
acute apprehension will be hasty and i'll
advised provisions as to armament ia
beyond anything which calm reason an
wise provision would deem necessary.
Driven Into War.
"There will be some" Secretarya Gar
rison continues. who assert that the do
HastatinR effects and the horror pro
duced by the war now being wage
make II certain that war will be avoid
ed for long period OF time after tn
close of the present war They wi
argue that the exhaustion of resource
ard the recollection of the awful sui
ferlng will have the effect OF deterrin
nations from entering upon war.
What basis is there for such belief
Certainly such basis cannot be foun
in history-our own or that OF otht
nations.
The colonists had barely passe
through the exhaustive and devastatin
wars with the Indians before they ell
RsRed in the Revolution. That war We
surely as exhausting to our meager II
sources and as productive OF horrib
conditions as can we'll be imagined, an
yet within a very short time after 4
close we were on the verge OF war wit
two of the greatest nations of II
world, and finally went to war wit
one OF them.
The war. between the States Ina
every element OF exhaustion and ever
untowaTd effect which war produce
aud vet at it's close We took q positlc
In support OF the Monroe doctrine whiC
would inevitably have brought on wf
With one OF the great nations of u