The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-12-08
PRESIDENT WILSON'S MESSAGE

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.erc for uses which arr a. necessary |
n times Of peace As In times Of war.
Ind we shall always see to II that our
military peace establishment - no
anger than. II actually and continuous |
y needed for tho uses Of days n which
10 enemies move against ~, Bzt wei
10 believe In a body Of free citizens
ready and sufficient 70 take care 1t
and OF the governments
which they have set mp to serve them.
In eur constitutions themselves wei
have commanded that the right Of
The people To keep and bear arms shall
not be infringed." and our confidence
has been that our safety IN times Of
danger would lie IN the rising Of the
nation to take care Of Itself. as the
farmers rose at Lexington.
War DisoipliesA might.
But Waf has never been mere mat
ter Of men and Snns. II II thing
OF Disciplined might n our citizens
are ever to- fight effectively upon a
sudden summons. they must know
how modern nghting b done. and what
to DO when the summpps comes toI
render themselves Immediately avail
able and immediately effective. And
the governmsnt must b their servant
ia this matter. mnst supply them With
the training they need to take care Of
themselves and Of Il The military
arm Of their government, which they
viii 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 h jeopardy. They
must be fitted to play the great role
in the world, and particularly In this
hemisphere. for which they are quail
fed by principle and By chastened ana
bition to play.
1t II with these ideals In mind that
the plans of the department Of war for
more adequate national defense were
conceived which will bs laid before
you, and which urge you to sanction
and put into effect AZ soon as they can
be properly scrutinized and discussed.
They seem to me tho essential first
steps, and they seem to me Tor the
present sufficient. :
They contemplate m Increase Of the
standing force Of the regular army
from It's present strength Of SOB Oh
GERS and. 2,965 enlisted men Of all
services to a strength Of 7,136 officers
and 1874. TOT enlisted men. or 141.848
all told, all services. rank and Ole, by
the addition Of ffty-two companies OF
coast artillery. fifteen companies Of en-
gineers. ten regiments Of infantry, four
regiments Of field artillery and four
aero sQuadrons. besides 7tO officers ~
quired for q great variety Of extra
service, especially the all important
duty Of training the citizen force OF
which shall presently speak. 7o2 non.
commissioned officers for service In
drill. recruiting and the like and the
necessary quota Of enlisted men Cor
the Quartermaster corps, the hospital
corps, the ordnance department. and
other similar auxiliary services. These
are the additions necessary to render
the army adequate for its present du.
ties, duties which Il has to perform
not only upon our own continental
coasts and borders and at our interio,
army posts. but also Ia the Philippines
in the Hawaiian islands, at the 18th.
mus and In Porto Rico.
By way Of making the country ready
to assert some part OF III real power
promptly and upon q larger scale
should occasion arise the plan also
contemplates experimenting the army
by a force Of 100000 disciplined citi.
zens, raised In increments Of $4,000 q
year throughout q period Of three
years. This It h proposed to do by Q
process Of enlistment under which the
serviceable men Of the country would
be asked to bind themselves to serve
with ths colors Tor purposes Of train
ing for short periods throughout three
years and to come to the colors at cal
at any time throughout an additions.
"furlough" period Of three years. This
L iOACC Va 10WsNW sHS0 WVui0 OS pIO
| vided with personal accouterments as
fast as enlisted and their equipment
for the field made ready to be supplied
at any time They would be assem-
bled for training at stated intervals al
convenient places In association with
suitable units Of the regular army
Their period OF annual training would
not necessarily exceed two months Il
the year.
It would depend upon the patriots
feeling Of the younger men of thu
country whether they responded t,
such cali to service or not.
would depend upon the patriotic spiri
Of the employers IT the country wheth
er they made It possible Tor the young
er men In their employ to respond un
der favorable conditions Or not TO
one do not doubt the patriotic devotion
either Of our young men or Of thos
who give them employment-those 70
whose benefit and protection the.
would In fact enlist would lool
forward to the success OF such an en-