The Spectator., 1915-12-07

selves and of 1t. The military arm of their goverHment. which they will not allow to direct them they may properly use to serve them and make their independence secure-and not their own independence merely but the rights also of those with whom they have made common cause. should they also be put in Jeopardy. They must be fitted to play the great role in the world and particularly In this hemisphere. for which they are quail fled by principle and by chastened amb- tion to play
 It Is with these ideals in mind that the plans of the department of war for more adequate national defense were conceived which will be laid before you. and which l urge you to sanction and put into ef. feet as soon as they can be properly scru- tinized and discussed. They seem to me the essential first steps, and they seem to me for the present sufficient
 They contemplate an increase of the standing force of the regular army from It's present strength of 5.023 officers and 102,9S5 enlisted men of all services to a strength of 7.136 officers and 707 en- listed men. or 141S43, all told, all serv- ices, rank and file, by the addition of 52 companies of coast artillery. l5 com panies of engineers, ten regiments of tn- fantry, four regiments of field artillery, and four aero squadrons. besides 750 oni- cers required for great variety of extra service. especially the all-'mportant duty of training the citizen force of which I shall presently speak. 792 non-commis- stoned officers for service in drill. recruit ing and the like, and the necessary quota of enlisted men for the quartermaster corps. the hospital corps, the ordnance department and other similar auxiliary services. These are the additions neces- sary to render the army adequate fer it's
 present duties. duties which 1t has to
 DprfOTm
 mental coasts and borders and at our in-
 terior army posts. but also in the Phil
 ippines in the Hawaiian islands. at the
 isthmus. and in Porto Rico.
 Force of Trained Citizens.
 By way of making the country ready
 to assert some part of its real power
 promptly and upon a larger scale, should
 occasion arise. the plan also contemplates
 supplementns the army by a force of
 GOO disciplined citizens. raised in incre- ments of l33,000 a year throughout pe-
 riod of three years. This it is proposed to do by a process of enlistment under which the serviCeable men of the coun-
 try would be asked to bind themselves to serve with the colors for purposes of
 training for short periods throughout
 three years, and to come to the colors at call at any time throughout an addi- tional "furlough" period of three years. This force of 0o000 men would be pro-
 vided with personal accoutrements as fast
 as enlisted and their equipment for the field made ready to be supplied at any
 time. They would be assembled for train ing at stated intervals at convenient places in association with suitable units
 of the regular army. Their period of annual training would not necessarily ex- ceed two months in the year.
 It would depend upon the patriotic feel ing of the younger men of the country
 whether they responded to such call to service or not It would depend upon the patriotic spirit of the employers of the country whether they made it possi- ble for the younger men in their em- ploy to respond under favorable condi- tions or not. I. for one. do not doubt the patriotic devotion either of our young
 men or of those who give them employ | ment-those for whose benefit and protec- tion they would in fact enlist.
 The program which will be laid before | you by the secretary of the navy is sim | ilarly conceived. It involves only 1 shortening of the time within which plans | long matured shall be carried out; but it | does make definite and explicit a program | which has heretofore been only implicit | held in the minds of the committe ees on | naval affairs and disclosed in the debates | of the two houses but nowhere formu- | lated or formally adopted It seems to | me very clear that it will be to the ad
  | to adopt comprehensive plan for put | ting the navy upon final footing of | strength and efficiency and to press that | plan to completion within the next five i years. We have always looked to the | navy of the country as our first and chief | line of defense. we have always seen 1t | to be our manifest course of prudence | to be strong on the seas. Year by year We have been creating a navy which now | ranks very high indeed among the navies | of the maritime nations. We should now | definitely determine how we shall com | plete what have begun, and how soon Program for the Navy. The secretary of the navy Is asking also for the immediate addition to the | personnel of the navy of 7.J0o sailors, | 2500 apprentice seamen, and 1900 marines. | This increase would be sufficient to care | for the ships which are to be completed | within the fiscal year 1917 and also for 1 the number of men which must be put in l training to man the ships which will be, l completed early in 1918. It is also neces- | sary that the number of midshipmen at l the naval academy at Annapolis should ] be increased by at least 300 In order that 1 the force of officers should be more rap ! idly added to; and authority Is asked to | appoint for engineering duties only ap- 1 proved graduates of engineering colleges, | and for service in the aviation corps a certain number of men taken from civil life
 If this full program should be carried out we should have built or building in 1921, according to the estimates of surviv- al and standards of classification followed by the general board of the department an effective navy consisting of 2 battle ships of the first line. six battle cruisers 95 battieships of the second line ten ar mored cruisers. l3 scout cruisers. five tirst-class cruisers, three second-class cruisers, ten third-class cruisers, JOS de troyers, IS fleet submarines. l57 coast sub. marines. six monitors, % gunboats. four supply ships. l5 fuel ships, four trans ports, three tenders to torpedo vessels l eight vessels of special types. and two ammunition ships. This would be navy | fitted to our needs and worthy of our 1 traditions
 Trade and Shipping. But armies and instruments of war are l only part of what has to be considered | if We are to consider the supreme matter | of national self-sufficiency and security | in all its aspects There are other great matters which will be thrust upon our at | tention whether we will or not There