The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-07-24
j. S. ARMY OFFICERS
CRY FOR ''NATER|AL"
EUROPEAN WAR HAS TAUGHT
THEM WHAT GREAT SUPPLIES
THIS COUNTRY NEEDS.

Washington, D. c., July 2~.- Ma
terial' is one of the chief things which
will be emphasized by the War De-
partment when it comes to make its
recommendation to Congress this
fall Material means almost any
thing in fighting equipment, and IS
borrowed from the French. However,
in army parlance it has long since be-
come good American.
Just now, the european armies are
crying for material" material
more material" That is what the
American army officers are crying for,
too, although their cries are faint and
low compared with the chorus of de-
mands going up from the European
countries and especially from those
that got caught mapping last August
because they had no conception of
what modern war demanded in re-
gard to supplies.
Garrison To Explain.
Secretary Garrison has been asked
to tell Congress how he thinks the
military system should be revamped.
He is going to do so in character
istically emphatic style. However, he
will cut his recommendations to suit
the cloth of what he conceives the
political requirements to be and what
the President conceives them to be.
The lessons of the European war
which have been taught for certain
are few. That is, there are many new
angles of the military art which seem
to project themselves from the Euro
pean fields but as to most Of them it
is not easy to draw definite conclu-
sions. One conclusion which is i'm
possible of escape is that modern war
eats up munitions, artillery, rifles, and
kindred equipment at rates hitherto
unknown.
How is the War Department going
to meet the problem thus raised?
What is Congress going to do about
it?
Congress May Do Nothing.
Nobody can tell what Congress will
do about it. Some think it will do
nothing. But in any event the War
Department will try to make it plain
that the United States ought to pro-
vide itself with an ample supply OF
reserve ammunition for rifles and ma
chine guns and field guns of all sort
and coast artillery.
Moreover, it will be urged that the
United States must provide itself with
plenty of rifles, machine guns and all
manner of ordinance. Congress will
be told the European war has demon
strated the absolute need of such
things, regardless of whether the
army is to be increased
1t will be pointed out to Congress
that as to shell, shrapnel, and ammu-
milton generally. This country can on
short notice, make large supplies.
Hence, a reasonably large reserve sup
ply would fill the bill.
But the manufacture of field guns,
machine guns, rifles and siege guns
takes time. 1t would be impossible to
equip an army of any kind-even one
of the kind that sprung into being be-
tween sunrise and sunset, which Mr..
Bryan says would happen-without
plenty CT rifles and guns.
Must Have Big Supply.
This means, of course, plenty Of
guns of 9-inch and upwards, plenty OF
machine guns and magazine rifles of
the best modern sort 1t would take
many months. a year, or more, to pro-
vide these things. A year would. in
fact, be too short a time and in that
year defeat might come.
So the War Department will advo-
cate that, as to those things for an