The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-09-28

man, Win as lltle training as tney |
had, could deploy, would have been
three or four times as great as our
slaughter Of the regulars who disap-
peared like Hell Divers the second
a shot was fired at them. OF course
this is only one of the many ways in
which unframed troops are moved
down by regulars in actual war.
This was lesson number n Of the
Plattsburg Camp. you cannot make |
efficient soldiers in a month no matter
how good the material you have and
no matter how willing that material
is"
Training Only Begun.
Every business man who left Platts-
burg realized this, that his education
as a soldier had only just begun and
il the Plattsburg Camp hasn't done
anything else but impress this on the
men who attended it, it has done the
country a great service.
Immediately hat these 1900 men
left P~lattsburg 500 men of the same
kind arrived and enlisted for another
months service. That camp is going
on now. These men are paying their
own expenses amounting to about
800 per man before they get through
With 1t, giving up their business and
vacations and subjecting themselves
to great physical hardship and for
what reason? AS near as I can figure
it each man is there as a protest
against the policy of the nation in
making practically no preparation
against war at a time when the world
is turned into ar armed camp and
the United States is practically power
less to stand for its rights and prin-
ciples, let alone defend its own shores
from a powerful enemy.
Those men went farther than merely
making this protest. During the
month that they were at camp the
nation was on the verge of war with
the strongest power in the world and
those men were earnestly and de-
terminedly fitting themselves to
volunteer in any capacity acceptable
to the government should war come.
They were prepared to back their
protest against the nations UMPIRE
p~aredness up with the sacrifice OF
: their lives.
= That their lives would be sacrificed
, in the event OF war to a man. each
t che either knew before he went tc
: camp or learnt up there when he
| made a study Of the nations militar,
$ forces and the problems involved il
a the case of an invasion. For one thins
they learnt that the United State!
. army has today only u field guns ani
that only seven of them are east o.
e the Mississippi river. Hall Of thii
y number were at the Plattsburg Camp
G~ermany~has some $4,000 field guns
England 5000, France $4,000. Thes,
figures are only approximate but ar,
near enough to illustrate the dis
v crepancy.
Artillery Indispensable.
Artillery is as indispensable to a,
d army as are arms and hands to
d prize fighter. In the western aren
|, in Europe today the armies are at
deadlock until one or the other ca.
h establish a superiority in artillery an
artillery ammunition to batter it's wa
ID through the enemy's lines. Agafns
ID one OF those armies the United State
a army would be as powerless as on
70 prize fighter with his arms tied to hi
in sides would be against one with h
D. arms free, only able to retire an
n dodge his enemy's blows. sure to
re eventually caught and beaten, unab]
err to advance and attack because he he
ne not artillery to drive his attack hon
to with. Yet the people Of the Unite
if States seem to be as little concerne
he about this situation as they are COZ
ng cerned about the foods in China.
ne Another lesson that the recru
learned at P~lattsburg was that II
e. average man who springs to arms b
ps tween sunrise and sunset both nee.
en- arms to spring to and some kno1
90 ledge Of how to use them If he Is 70
CHI tunate enough to find one after b
Of spring. That there are not near
ire enough rifles available in the Unit
I'm States today to arm an adequate arm
OF defence with Is no more serio
to than the fact that with the except.
as OF our regular army, which is on
DIV about twice the size Of the New 70
Der police force and which is scatter
to all e the country and our insul
So possessions, and with the exception
YER u patriotic but often woefully
cir efficient militia, we have very f
a males In the country who could use
ar high powered Springfield rifle at ey
we short ranges with any degree of {
in curacy. Modern rife shooting is r