The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-08-19
y nation MillIbe eommitted Is : pol-
Lessons nom Europe.


president by the military experts Will
be based to very large extent upon
the lessons that are to be learned from
the European war. Those reports will
recommend the laying down Of g pro-
gram of military preparedness There
will be certain Items which VIII be
cited as desirable but not indespens-
able. But there VIII be no dissenting
voices among the experts asto the inn
perattve need OF q greatly enlarged
corps Of trained ofncers.
H. for instance, the army is not en-
larged or is enlarged but slightly. II
It Is decided that the United States
will stick to its present program and
depend upon volunteer apmy when
an emergency arises. the need will be
even stronger for this corps Of officers
than otherwise.
It is held that the United States.
finding itself thrust into a war, wou11
need every officer It now has to handle
the regular army In its efforts toward
resistance. It It called for a million
volunteers and secured them, it would
be without trained officers to convert
them from raw recruits into efficient
fighting machines. 1t Is granted that
an intelligent 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 eh1ctent
handling. There must be competent,
h,ghly-trained officers to effect the
transforamtion To handle million
recruits there must be large number
of ondcers. The experts say that II
we were plunged into a war with
first cIas power II would require the
services of 10000 officers to make us
an adequate army.
Lacks Trained Officers.
England. it Is claimed, has encoun-
tered its chief difficulty In making an
army because OF an insufficient force
OF trained officers. Trouble with en-
listments and in the production OF
munitions has been easier to overcome.
Russia, it is also stated by the ex-
perts. has found her great handicap
when the day OF mighty battles came
in the fact that its troops, admirable
in most instances have been without
trained of1cersto lead them
The president and Congress and the
people will be asked to provide means
for the development Of q strong corps
of reserve officers. There are many
plans for making this possible. The
first suggestion is to double the ca
pacity OF the military schools and to
graduate double the number OF men
from them The need Is greatest in
the army and to supply this need West
Point could, under such an arrange
ment, graduate an Aadd1tlonal nunoreo
men each year
This number turned out by that in
stitution annually has been below
hundred for each year of the last i've
until the present when 1t jumped to
1853. A hundred men year, going
from West Point into the reserve ofic-
er lists would, In twenty years. build
up such reserce 1000 strong and
main tain it thereafter. An education
at West Point with possibility of
service only in case of war would be
more attractive to the youth of the
nation than such a course requiring
a military career after graduation. A
similar increase in the number OF men.
graduated from the Naval Academy at
Annapolis would supply the needs of
that branch of the service.
The Land Grant Colleges.
1t is found that the nation has
other resources for the production OF
reserve officers. There are for in
stance. the land grant colleges. one
in each state. which receive stipends
y i y II