Evening star., 1915-11-28
Job Military Program Through United States Senate

to $4,000 men of that arm, which is
none too large.
With our present regular army of
$4,000 men it is only by supreme effort
that we have been able to maintain
only $4,000 men on the Mexican border.
and that with war with Mexico immi-
nent at any time in the past three
years: in the event of which war, pro-
vided the various Mexican factianE
united against us, as they proba bly,
would. We would have to face about
100000 experienced Mexican fighting
men
IAN increase OF the regular army to
the number stated would necessitate a
material increase in the officerial force.
An army without efficient leadership Is
nothing more than a mob. One reason
for the effectiveness of the German
army in the present war is that it has
an abundance of leader Men
sufficiently trained to command can be
plucked out of the ranks of the German
army almost anywhere as the emer-
gency arises.
.'On the other hand, much of the
weakness of some of the entente armies
lies in the fact that to supplant the ex-
cess of officers killed wounded there
was not sufficient officer r-material to be
had
I'VE have in West Point a training
school for officers that is not working
to its capacity. Without material in
crease in its overhead charges, it could
turn out annually practically twice the
number of graduates that it has been
turning out West Point should be
utilized to its fullest capacity, even if
it should graduate an excess of Off
GERS. The surplus could very well pass
into civil life as a reserve upon which
to draw in time of national peril.
These young men, even if 1t were
certain that there would be no imme-
diate positions for them in the regular
army, should be educated at national
expense, for their training becomes a
l. ~ L.
pursuing civil vocations. they would be
available to train the proposed conti-
mental army and to give instruction in
such schools as establish military in
struction as part of their curricula.
Next to be considered is the National
Guard, or organized militia of the sew
eral states, force now numbering some
10000, to which the federal govern
ment grants aid to the extent of about
S5.0G0.000 year, and over the instruc-
tion of which the War Department ex-
ercises a certain amount of supervision,
although the officers of the force are,
under the Constitution, appointed by
the states.
The National Guard is capable of a
larger development and of being OF
even greater service to the nation than
it is now. To this end 1 introduced a
bill at the last session of Congress,
known as the militia pay Dill, pTOVlu-
ing certain limited pay for the officers
and men of the National Guard and for
a larger degree of control by the War
Department.
This would have had the effect of
strengthening the National Guard ma
terially, but the bill did not then have
sufficiently strong support. and failed
of passage. Now. however, ! think the
general consensus of opinion is that
this bill, or one like it, should be put
through at the coming session.
Beyond the needs of the regular
army and the National Guard. there
must be a system devised for training
men who are engaged in civil occupa-
tions in the military art, SO that in the
event of war they may be available for
military service. These men make up
the great body of the male citizenship
of the country. To provide training for
them is the idea behind the proposed
continental army advocated by the War
Department.
FINALLY, there must be considered the
matter of reserves. In my opinion the