The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-01-12
MIR. Greene On Our Army.
(St. Adams Messencer.l

Congressman Frenk l.. Greene's ar |
ticle in yesterdays Boston Sunday !
Globe on The Consequence of Being
nprepared, is of interest to Vermont |
because its author represents the
states first congressional district, and
to the nation because he is q member
OF the House committee on military af-
fairs
Congressman Greene wants o bigger
army and the development of an ade
| quate reserve. That much he ma es
plain. He doesn't want the nation
turned into an armed camp, nor does
he advocate compulsory military ser
vice. No sane man docs. Compulsory
service would give us an army out Of
all proportion to our need and would
effectively turn us into an armed
camp, which would be a calamity.
Between the. extreme of utter UMPIRE
lparedness and the extreme of over-pre-
lparedness Congressman Greene seems
to pick an even course. He recognizes
that today we would be practically at
the mercy of any strong nation, for
while, at least. He points out the in
Ieyitable slaughter that would await
the regular army and the militia that
would try to hold the enemy in check
1880 ~ SOuhtAy NOuAo " SSNAAAAiS
frantically to whip its citizen army in
to shape.
The fact that he urges a larger re-
serve supply of arms and ammunition
in, far greater quantities than now
exist is good indication that we have
an insufficient stock on hand today for
he is a member of the military affairs
committee and he ought to know. The
folly of neglecting to have sufficient
reserve store of munitions of war on
l hand Is revealed when one considers
i the present military policy of the
United States.
We have small standing army, Sc
small that, as Mr.. Greene says, its en-
: tire mobile strength in the United
L States today could be easily aceommo
). dated on the playing field in the YALE
bowl at New Haven. We plan, in til,
> levent of hostilities, to swell our arm!
by citizen enlistments. There is NJ
II doubt that these enlistments would b.
:. forthcoming in huge numbers, but wha
|. good are unframed men against traine'
. opponents, and what good is. a ma
:, armed with a pitehfork against ma
= with a modern high power rifef
u Unless we have the arms and the am
lie munition to give the men once the
RAINY u tuo COioTSy II Noutu NC pettS
they did not rally. Mr.. Greene effeC
"a lively exploded the popular myth tina
- in time of war we would be all RICH
= because a vast army of volunteer
:. would spring into being over night I
:. defend their homes. The fact is, wit
: military science what it is today, a
army cannot come spontaneously int
q being any more than golden apples ca
re be picked in the orchard. 4 potter
40 tial army springs into being; the o
D. ehard's apples may be ultimately tur
in cd into gold.
If war should come and we shou
;. have for our defense only our presel
Il military establishment we would fa'
al hard and perilous times and our natio
en- tai pride would receive severe blow
III and the bubble of our national conec
ao would be speedily pricked. The proce
{, would cost. us thousands of lives al
u millions and millions of property d
Ia stroyed, and while we might turn q
he feat into victory in the end (as '
surely would in any popular war;, '
would have to pay an excessive pri
for our unprepaTedness.