Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-21
NATIONA LDBRBNSE
PROBLEMS.
I.-RESERVE OFFICERS.
By Frederic J. Haskin.


of such gravity as it has been called
upon to confront but once or twice
in all it's history. 1t must decide
whether or not it will prepare for the
coming Of a possible powerful foe.
The problem is one of particular
difficulty because the United States is
inherently non military-has through
out it's history stuck to the principle
of maintaining almost no army and the
smallest navy that would seem in any
way to serve the obvious needs. Its
people are opposed to the idea of mill
tarism. but DESTROYS of that sense OF
security which comes with a conscious
ness of their ability to give an account
of themselves in time of need.
The fascination with which they have
watched the progress of the war in
Europe has had in it the element of
personal interest. for the American has
instinctively asked what his own gov
eminent would be able to do II 1t were
called upon to meet such foes as have
here been flung back and forth, one
way and another.
When he has read of a force of a mill
lion and half trained men. fully
equipped, set
Stories of Rig War ting out for
Merely Reminders. p1isbment Of a
military purpose. he has thought Oh
the 10000 mobile troops that the Unlteo
States has in readiness were 1t the
object Of such an attack. When ne mas
read of fleets of submarines running
into the hundreds, he has called to MIND
that fotilla of a dozen underwater
craft that might be concentrated FOR
the defense of the Atlantic seaboard
were a fleet of the enemy to set out
across the ocean. He had considered
death grapples between great, civil
lized, humane, modern nations thing
that would never happen-has argued
that the terrors of it, the cost of it,
the folly of it, made it unthinkable.
But such a war has come and other
nations as civilized as the United
States, as strongly opposed to war, as
apparently secure from it. have been
plunged into it, So Uncle Sam has
come to the place where he must de-
termine whether or not to trust to his
ability to remain forever at peace.
Must he or must he not prepare for the
May he wager the chance of even ceas-
ing to exist against the privilege OF re-
naming democratic and unmilitary?
That is the problem which will this
fall face the administration of Presi-
dent Wilson; the Congress of the United
States and the American people. AL
ready the Secretary of War and the
Secretary of the Navy have been called
upon to submit expert opinion as to the
needs of those services. These are in
these reports, supplemented by his own
opinions and those of his civilian ad-
visers, the President will submit rec
concentrations to Congress. The ses-
sion of that body which will occupy
the coming winter and spring. and
probably last late into the fall, will be
largely given over to the discussion of
military preparedness and at its close
the nation will be committed to pol
icy.
President by the military experts will
be based to a
Reports by Experts very large ex-
Drawn From Europe. ' len. upon - tnt :
are to be learned from the European
war. Those reports will recommend
the laying down Of a program of mill
tary preparedness. There will be GER
tain items which will be cited as de-
sirable but not indispensable. But
there will be no dissenting voices
among the experts as to the imperative
need Of a greatly enlarged corps of
trained officers.
II, for instance, the army is not en-
larged, or is enlarged but slightly; il 1t
Is decided that the United States will
stick to it's present program and depend
upon volunteer army when an emer-
gency arises, the need will be even
stronger for this corps of officers than
otherwise.
1t is held that the United States, find
ing itself thrust into a war. would need
every officer 1t now has to handle the
regular army in its efforts toward re-
sistance. If it called for a million vol
unteers and secured them, it would be
without trained officers to convert them
from raw recruits into efficient fighting
machines. 1t is granted that an intelli-
gent recruit may be made a pretty
good soldier with six months Of the
right sort Of training. But to get that
training he must have efficient han
ding. There must be competent, high
ly trained officers to effect the trans
formation. To handle a million recruits
there must be a large number Of Of
ficers. The experts say that II we were
plunged into a war with a first-class
power it would require the services of
900 officers to make us an adequate
army.