Evening star., 1916-01-10
Shortage of Those Properly
Equipped Is Topic of Assist
ant Secretary Vrooman.
TALKS STUDENT BODY
ON NATIONAL DEFENSE
Regards "PotentiaI' Reserves Turn
ed Out by Agricultural Colleges
as Valuable Aid to Army.

AMES. Iowa. January 1o.-Frepared-
ness was the text of an address deliv-
cred by Carl Vrooman, assistant secre-
tary of agriculture, before the cadet
battalion and student body of Iowa
Agricultural College here today. the
speaker laying stress on the shortage
bodies Of men and the difficulties in the
way Of training a sufficient number Of
such officers.
1T is generally understood" said As
sistant Secretary Vrdoman, that in
time of war the greatest and most diff
cult need to supply is a sufficient quota
Of properly trained officers. Private SOL
diers of a fair degree Of efficiency can
be improvised in a few months. Mu
nitions of war. with the exception of
cannon, likewise can be turned out
on comparatively short notice. But 1t
is well established fact that it takes
years to recruit and train a corps of
officers capable of drilling troops and
leading them efficiently"
Product of Land Grant Colleges.
The speaker adverted to the fact that
the so-called land grant colleges of the
various states each year turn out
larger number of potential officers
than do all other sources combined,
including West Point and the entire
army. Last year, he said. more than
5000 students graduated from these
col eyes, nearly all of whom, having
had from two to four years training
and military instruction, were capable
of being made into efficient second
lieutenants by few months of in
tensiye training under war conditions.
Secretary Garrison" the speaker
said, apparently is the first Secretary
of War who has given serious con-
sideration to the problems of utilizing
this splendid corps of potential re-
serve officers. He is doing his utmost
to bring the instruction and training
given by the land grant colleges up to
| the highest attainable point of effi-
cheney, and the time has come, l be-
leve, for the colleges to reciprocate by
taking themselves seriously as poten-
tial factors in any important national
| movement for preparedness
Referring to European conditions,
Assistant Secretary Vroonan said:
'If England had been one-fourth as
well prepared on land as she was on
sea, or as the central powers were on
land, and If she had made clear to the
central powers that in case or war
like the present, she would line up
with Belgium, France and Russia,
there would have been no war.
Fixes Responsibility for War.
This being the case. it is evident
that the responsibilit for the present
world war rests not only upon those
powers that prepared for g. war of ag-,
gression, but also upon those paciflsts
who prevented England from working
out for herself an adequate system OF
defense on land as well as on the
sea-"
Referring to Switzerland's military
system, Mr. Vrooman declared that had
Belgium been as well prepared to re-
sist invasion as the mountain republic
Belgian neutrality never would have
been violated and Belgian cities never
would have been ravaged and de-
stroyed.
"Switzerland's citizen soidiery." he
said, reveals to US and to all the world
democracy triumphantly meeting the
acid test of it's patriotism, efficiency
and intelligence. Manifestly, democ
racy incapable of defending itself
promptly and to the last unit of avail
able power. is doomed to extinction in
conflict with the lower and more preda-
tory national types"
Disarmament a GLORIOUS Ideal"
Disarmament, he said, is glorious
ideal. but an ideal only to be realized
by common action on the part of the
leading nations of the world. He as
serted that the real issue before Con-
sress and the American people today is:
Is it wiser to be wholly unarmed and
to advertise and capitalize that fact.
as did Luxembourg, and be swallowed
without being masticated, in the hope
of some future resurrection a la Jonah; ;
or, like Switzerland, to have the whole
potential military strength of the coun-
try ready for active defensive opera
tions in c2=- - emergency; or, like
Belgium. to be neither wholly unarmed
nor intelligently armed and prepared
| to defend ones self successfully!
He urged as preliminary steps in any
scheme of preparedness an adequate
navy, a powerful auxiliary marine and
| a merchant marine capable of handling
| the borne commerce of the nation
| in time of peace as well in time of
war, and con cluded his address with an
appeal to his hearers and to the farm
ers and manufacturers of the country
| to manifest their determination that
| such program shall be undertaken at
| once and without further paltering or