The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1915-09-24
Hay For Larger Amry.

sued statement through the National
Security League in which he outlined
for the first time his views upon the
question of national defense.
| In this statement Mr.. Hay gives de-
finite assurance that he is not opposed
to an increased appropriation for the
army and navy; that he is not now and
never has been antagonistic to the
Presidents policy in this regard, but,
on the contrary, is anxious to support a
! moderate increase in the military es-
tablishment.
| Perhaps the most important proposal
which Mr.. Hay makes is that for pay
for the National Guard, which body, he
| thinks, should form the basis for an
| army reserve. This is in line with the
views of many leading Democrats in
the House and Senate.
Mr.. Hays statement is as follows:
| Gas the President will have his rec
| concentrations to submit to Congress
| after full conference with the heads of
the Army and Navy departments, and
| as the question of acting upon those
| recommendations will have to be decid-
| ed by the entire Congress, l have re-
Trained from making any public state
| ment as to my Individual views on the
| national defense. l shall be guided in
large measure by the Presidents views,
] ln ,a Cd nh tn
consider the interests of the entire
people and wise enough to submit plan s
which will be efficient without adding
too largely to our burden of taxation.
IN Congress, too, there will be many
harmonized, because the Democratic
majority is only 80. 1t will be neces-
sary, therefore, to wait until Congress
can give full consideration to all matters
connected with national defense after
it assemblies instead of predicting now
what ought to be or what will be done
81 may say, however, that our present
standing army is allowed strength of
100, $50 men. About 81, 900 are actually
enlisted. The army now costs US $780,
900, 900 a year. The full strength of
the army at 12O, 900, in addition to ad-
dition to pay given the National Guard,
would cost us $140, 10000 If we had
100000 men, which is said to be as
many as can be enlisted, owing to the
demands for industrial service, we
would have to spend $3.50, 100000. If
we had an army of 100000 men, which
some people advocate, it would cost US
500, 900, 900. do not believe that the
people would want that burden, or that
they would expect Congress to impose
it upon them. Neither do l believe
that the American people want compul-
sorry military service.
Il heartily agree with the President
that our citizen soldiery should be given
more attention. 1t might be proper,
for instance, to encourage enlistment
in the National Guard by paying its
members rs per cent. of the amount
paid to regular soldiers, which would
be $50 a year, and which would probab-
ly cost US So, 100000 additional to the
present army cost for the first year.
cit may be wise also to increase the
field artillery. now consisting of six
regiments, to twice that number, as
the war in Europe has demonstrated
} that this is most potent arm of the
service. 1t should be known, however
that in the past four years more money
has been appropriated for field artillery
and field artillery ammunition than in
/ the previous 10 years, and this artillery
J and ammunition are in reserve. AS
r for officers, it should be known that
there are 173 military schools in this
=, country which are turning out 10000
! students each year, many of whom
' would make good officers"
Representative Hays statement in
y dicates that the advocates of adequate
preparedness will probably secure ar
increase of 30, 900 to the regular army
which is the figure named in letter
I recently written to the National Sc.
: curity League by Senator Chamberlain
: of Oregon, chairman of the Senate
Committee on Military Affairs. There
is no doubt that measures to increase
the strength and efficiency of the
I National Guard will find favor and the
pathway in this direction will be made
a easier by the attitude now being as
sumed by organized labor.
The Maryland and District of Colum
bia Federation of Labor last weel
S adopted resolution openly approving
the enlistment of its members in mill
tary bodies.
ga man who is wage Garner ant
D honorably working at his trade or call
= ing to support himself and those de
. pendent upon him." the resolution de
: clares, "has not only right to become
a citizen soldier, but that right mus
5 and will be unquestioned by this or
I ganization.
President Samuel Gompers, of thu
j., American Federation of Labor, ha
also come out in a statement which
says that organized labor will be be
e hind President Wilson in a REASONABLE,
t program for adequate national defense
n 81 think organized labor Throughout
:, the country realize that at presen
neither our army nor our navy is ade
quate, and that both should be increas
: ed within reasonable limits" he declar
n ed. "What labor favors in addition tt
e standing army is a large either
army, a national militia of trained
men,"