New-York tribune., 1916-01-17
a Regular Army First.

~
There seems TO he general agree
ment in Washington that Secretary Gar
rison's Continental Army project is morl-
hund. Nobody in Congress Is champion
inc i. Even Chairman Hay Of the House
Military Affairs Committee IS reported
10 have turned against It.
II we are to continue to rely on second
or third lire troops for the national de
fence. holding tine regular army down TO
q strength which makes it impotent 10
discharge its functions as first lme' II
would be more sensible and far less eN-
pensive 10 develop the present national
ized militia than 20 create q Continental
Army. The state militia organizations
sre undertrained. But at least they are
subject to training all the year around
instead of for only two months each year
They can be recruited more easily than
a Continental body could be. and they
offer more substantial inducements TO
volunteers than does hybrid. hat-actlNe'
balf-inactive body like the Continenta!s.
Many more men would join the state or
eanizations if they were relieved from 'Ae
cistasteful and improper duty OF serving
SIS state police in labor disturbances
Senator Cummns has provided for Sucn
p release in his bill eHlarging the organ
ized militia. and that idea is sound
Every state should have constaouIary
TO use in suppressing local disorders FOR
such purposes q small constabulary can
do better work than state militia three
or four times its size.
The countrv can bid farewell TO the
Continental Army scheme with equanlm-
;tv. 1t is not essential just now to our
,,i,itarv development We need real
first line of defence more than we need
anv number Of second and third lines
We cannot pet anywhere in military
sense until we have laid the foundation
for a real military system such as a
nroperly organized regular army alone can
furnish.
In his article in The Sunday Tribune Of
January 9 Professor r. NJ. Johnston made
these very illuminating remarks: "On the
whole. it may be said Of the American
army that the higher the rank Of the
officer the less competent he is. As a sub
lieutenant he viii pass muster; the cap
tains are often good, but when II comes
TO the field officers lack Of training be-
comes painfully felt Beyond that we
N will draw the veil. But it is not then
VI fault. They are sinned against by system
Y that should be scrapped Immediately"
We make the mistake in our army OF
thinking that a military education ends
when an officer is graduated from West
Point or raised by examination from the
ranks. This is as foolish as TO hold that q
,eoal education ends when law student
gets his diploma from law school Edu-
cation must be continuous all through a
soldiers career. We force our officers to
get along as best they can with the eX-
perience which they acquire as leutenants
and captains. How is it possible for them
TO get wider experience? The division
g. the unit in modern warfare But the
War Department cannot put modern di'
vision in the field. 1t strains its resources
when II collects one or two underslzec
brigades for war game purposes.
In sn army as small as ours IS TO-DAY
there is no chance 10 supply troops IN the
prooer proportion for a division organi-
eaton. There is - excess Of cavalry IN
cur establishment condition inherited
from the Indian war and border police pc
riod. We are short Of infantry. and in
field artillery our deficiency is ludicrous.
Yet field artillery has now succeeded IN
fantry as "the queen Of battles
Our army cannot be made real school
for officers until it begins 20 furnish COM
plete facilities for modern training. staff
experience Is the ripened growth Of years.
If we should be plunged into war, how
could our officers of the higher ranks be
expected to handle large units with which
thew had never dealt before except on
paperY
Our paramount military need is reg
u,ar army with minimum active strength
of 250.OOO. When we get that 1t will be
time to decide about organizing reserves
Of second and third line troops.
D.oss Ruftnps