New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-01-13
Secretary Believes People
Want Country AIDE
quately Defended.
URGES INCREASE
OF REGULAR ARMY
Senate Committee Members Cen
orally Approve His Efficiency
Measures.
rFrom The Tribune Bureau

Washington, Jan. i2.-Popular inter
est in the improvement Of national de-
fences, aroused by newspaper discus
sion. was put forward by Secretary
Garrison to-day before the Senate Mill
tary Affairs Committee as the most
potent influence in support Of the
movement to increase the efficiency Of
the army.
81 think the American people. for the
first time" the Secretary said, have
been seriously aroused through the
newspapers 20 consider the matter OF
national defence, thing provided for
in the Constitution, upon which they
should reach proper conclusions. am
hopeful that one result will be a proper
attitude toward those who are deyot-
ing their lives 20 this branch or the
government. Statutes can do nothing
The discussion Of national defence5 .by
the business men in every community
will have a better effect than all the
statutes that can be passed
Secretary Garrison, with several OIL
fcers of the General Staff Of the army
appeared before the Senate committee
20 urge the passage Of measures PROVO
ing for the enlistment Of the regular
army up 10 its maximum strength, the
/ increase of the number Of officers by
/ 900 and the establishment OF a re
serve force with other reserve organl-
cations which can be called into service
the moment war is threatened.
With the exception Of Senator Earda-
man. practically all the members or the
committee appeared to be OF the same
mind as Secretary Garrison. Ihey eX-
pressed general approval OF the meas
ures proposed for increasing the
( efficiency of the army.
Secretary Garrison warned the com
mittee that the mobile army in the
United States comprised only 33,OOO
men, and that this number would De
/ reduced TO $4,000 when the garrson5
on the Panama Canal Zone and IN
Hawaii were filled. The commissioned
strength of officers, he asserted, was
I far below that necessary Tor an
efficient army.
The measures proposed, Mr.. Garrison
added, provided the least expensive way
of furnishing an adequate military
force to be available in time OF war.
Members of the committee were dis
posed TO criticise the bill providing Tor
an increase of 1000 officers, on the
ground that il paved the way for the
appointment of too many officers IN the
. higher grades. thereby giving a stimu-
lus TO promotion. IL is not improbable
that this provision will be materially
modified.
The Secretary Of War strongly adyo-
Gated the adoption of the bill confer
ring authority on him 70 discharge en-
listed men from active service with the
regular forces at the end or twelve
months to be enrolled in the reserve.
81 would like TO have my own son
serve for twelve months for the eXpe %
ence he would gain" said Mr.. Garrison,
land think many others feel the same
way about il. Many VIII join the cOlors
if they feel they will not be committing
themselves for more than year
Secretary Garrison said the enact
ment of the coast artillery bill would
bring that arm of the service up TO 90
per cent Of the strength it would have
in war. He considered this the most
urgent matter, because the isolated
position of the United States makes its
coast defence of great importance. A
single shot from a big gun, he SAID,
would sink Sl5,000000 battleshlp, but
no foe would take chances against the
coast defences in order to drop a few
random shells into cities.
General Weaver, chief of the coast
artillery, told the committee that the
United States had expended $4,000.
GOO on its coast defences since 1888,
and that in material they were the
"best in the world" He submitted
tables Of the number Of guns and the
present regular forces in charge OF
them to show that more men and Off
core ,vere urppntlv needed