The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-04-04
Maxwell Plans to Make West
Virginia Center of Our Ma
tionaI Defense.

t4 n IL IA
ne HUNTINGTEN. Apr. 33.-The crea-
ton of q great national reserve sys-
TEN, with West Virginia as the CEN
ter, the object being The national de-
4 fence, is the idea Of the National Re
Il clamation Association and the Amer
lean. Hopecroft Society. representa-
! tives Of which We're i'm conference
1 with members ofsflle board or di-
lrectors of the chamber OF commerce.
4 George II. Maxwell, executive chair
4 man OF the Satiunals Recla ma ton AS
Isociation intends To deliver an adj
dress before a mass meeting here,
while Frederick Bennett Wright or
washington, field secretaTy for the
i American Homecroft Association, will
remain In the city indefinitely. con-
4 ductins campaign Of education in.
i the schools and elsewhere
In discussing the campai gn for ma
tional defense Mr. Maxwell said:
The American people are ll,@
against proposition that will NOT
down. There must be some system
Of national defense in the United
States. Now there is practically none.
i More particularly a troop force ade=
quate in numbers and constantly
J ready for an emery ency must be pro-
Flded. Our present army is large
enough for a national police force
but Inadequate to repel any sort or
invasion from any first class power.
D. N army landed on the shores Of
Connections and New Jersey would
take possession OF our arms, amnlu--
n p on and powder factories. operate
them to manufac ture nll1nitions or
war to fight us. with. swim Z hi i ehind
New York. cut off the water supply,
and levy am indemnity so ElrgeS that
8it,sculd 5staEger the world.
would be helpless; utterly
lie pies s. ~ so1unt eer force Oh. militia
would be worse than useless. An i,n-g
organized volunteer force would sim
ply be moved down by modern field
tillery. The bigger the force. the
bigger the massacre.
]. All this is practica lily conceded by 4
all stud ents of the subject and some
thing is going to. be done. The ques- I.
ton is @.what?,
w. We need ssa navy f#Scours
We need fortifl cati ions. of course.
without a mobile troop force. Tha 81
too is conceded The only question
that remains Is whether we shall have
AZ large Standing army or a reserve
like Switzef land,, Australia or New
Zealand IA
tchener advised Australia and
New Zealand to organize the reserve
system and they did so. and now
have systems ofnati onal defense.
The army men advocate an In
crease in the standing army ilnme-
Itliately to S.2 10000 men. doubling it's !.
present a4tt hpffze ed siren 9Th This |
would cast another 81 90, 900 900 "a year i
the present army costing this much !
instead tiof Spend ding that ad
dItionaE hunh red init ion yearly. to en-
5list# IN emf to- lsSe dleness in camps !
and barracks that money should bel
spent to- employ 1en ITO do the work
The national resourcesssof th e cou1l-
Try. And the reserve for the defense
OF the Atlanti Ter seaeoa st. should be 4
conc ted in West Virginia forsI
many reasons. Aall rof witch are ext
planned in ny book, The NATIONAL
Defense; which has just been pub
ltshed. s8s
I i..I1, West Virginia. these things
should be done at national expense
and for national defense to- create /
an adequate reserve.
dept the Swiss educa tional9i
and reserve systern.
" Secon dopt the German forestry
system and extend IT. to. include all I.
necessary works to regulate rivers
and control foods aud build roads
and waterways. gS
Fhdrd--A dopt the Australian and
New Zealand land set cement system
SO 50 as to put at II east$ a mi lion acres
OF the land Of est Einia adapted
to truck gardening into that sort Of
cult Ion. and establish 900 acre