The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1915-12-08
SUGGESTS BROAD PLAN
FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE.


Hundred Thousand Citizen Soldiers.
But war has never been a mere mat
ter of men and guns. 1t is a thing
of disciplined might If our citizens
are ever to fight effectively upon a
sudden summons, they must know
how modern fighting is done, and what
to do when the summons comes to
render themselves Immediately avail
able and Immediately effective. And
the government must be their servant
in this matter. must supply them with
the training they need to take care OF
themselves and OF it The military
arm of their government. which they
will 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 In 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 am
bition 20 play.
1t Is with these ideals In mind that
the plans OF the department OF war for
more adequate national defense were
conceived which will be laid before
you. and which urge you to sanction
and put into effect as soon as they can
be properly scrutinized and discussed.
They seem TO me the essential first
steps, and they seem to me for the
present sufficient
loN- % 81,
standing force of the regular army
from its present strength of 5.O23 OIL
GERS and 1O2,9S5 enlisted men of all
services to a strength of 7,136 officers
and 134,107 enlisted men, or 141.S43
all told, all services, rank and file. by
the addition of fifty-two companies of
coast artillery. fifteen companies of en-
gineers, ten regiments of infantry, four
regiments of field artillery and four
aero squadrons. besides $50 officers re-
quired for a great variety of extra
service. especially the all important
duty of training the citizen force of
which shall presently speak. 1872 nom
commissioned officers for service in
drill. recruiting and the like and the
necessary quota of enlisted men for
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 1t has to perform
not only upon our own continental
coasts and borders and at our interior
army posts. but also in 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 its real power
promptly and upon larger scale
should occasion arise the plan also
contemplates experimenting the army
by force of 100000 disciplined citi
zens, raised in Increments of $4,000
year throughout a period OF three
years. This II is proposed to do by
process of enlistment under which the
serviceable men OF the country would
be asked to bind themselves to serve
with the colors for purposes of train
ing for short periods throughout three
years and to come to the colors at call
at any time throughout an additional
"furlough- period of three years. This
force of 100000 men would be pro
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 at
convenient places in association with
suitable units OF the regular army.
Their period of annual training would
not necessarily exceed two months IN
the year.
It would depend upon the patriouc
feeling OF the younger men or the
country whether they responded 10
such call to service or not IL
would depend upon the patriotic spirit
of the employers OF the country wheth>
er they made It possible for the young
er men in their employ to respond IN.
der favorable conditions or not for
one do not doubt the patriotic devotion
either of our young men or Of those
who give them employment-thosef for
whose benefit and protection they
would In fact enlist. would look
forward to the success Of such an ex-
pertinent with entire confidence
At least so much by way OF prepara-
ton for defense seems to me to be abb
solutely imperative now We cannot
do less
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN