Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-03-31
ARMYLEAGUE To SUPPORT: PLANS
FOR BETTER NATIONAL DHENsBS
BY c. S. ALBERT.
ar-RulleA1 Correspondence

WASHINGTON. H. G., March -
The Arm, Leagu+ will support the
complete legisI4tivp program for bet
ter national defense brought forward
, ~ the secretary Of war and the gen
eral staff. An official announcement
to that effect has been issued.
During the period intervening before
the next session Uf Congress the
league will conduct a vigorous and aC-
tive campaign Of education. l.itera-
ture~ will be circulated, speeches made
and persuasion eXerted to make Citi-
Zens generally realize that more ade-
quate provision should be made by
Congress for the protection OF the
United States.
Il am authorized to state that the
Army Leagne will support a leGiSla-
tive program which is recommended
by the general staff OF the army and
approved by the secretary of war,
said Gen Johnston, the new president
OF the Army League. in discussing the
new policy of his administration. The
Army League is nonpartisan Organi-
Zation composed OF men Of all parties
who are united in an effort to secure
an adequate land force for the defense
of the nation. Prominent among it's
officers are Hon. Perry Belmont. for
eight years a member of Congress and
chairman of the committee on foreign
relations-a Democrat; Gen. Robert
Shaw Oliver. assistant secretary of
war for about Il years under two Re
publican administrations The Army
League believes that an adequate land
force for the defense Of the nation
can only be secured by following a
line OF action which has been thought
out by those who have given their
lives to the study of national defense.
The law which created the general
staff made its duty to take mp this
great problem and after two years
of study the general staff made a re-
port on the organization of the land
forces Of the United States which was
approved not only by the secretary of
war, but by all the general officers of
the army and was published August
10, 1912. 1t provides, merely as a ma
tional defensive measure, for a certain
increase of the regular army so as to
create, as a nucleus, a model force
that can be modified with great ra-
pidity while steps are being taken to
transform the militia into a volunteer
organization and train a volunteer
army.
"A citizenry trained and accustom-
ed to arms is most desirable in this
scheme of our national defense. This
training should begin, as in Switzer-
land, with the youth in our schools.
Such training, valuable as it is, is OBJ
viously, however, insufficient and must
be supplemented by some such organi
cation as that which obtains in Swift
zerland for the purpose of making this
material available and effective in
time of war. This requires that leg
islation be enacted to create an Or
gained reserve for the army and mi
litia Of the country. This would lead
more effectively in time of war to
system that would assemble the maxi
mum number of officers and men i'm
mediately available to operate against
the enemy; whereas our present lack
of such organization in time of war
produces a dangerous status of dis
persion and consequent decentralization
of our regular force by depicting it of
large numbers of officers and men who
must be detached for every purpose
under the sun connected with an at
tempt to put an army in the field