The Washington herald., 1916-12-11
Army and Navy News
Hest ServIce Column On City.

when the new garage OF the United
states government at Fort Sam Houston,
Texas is built 1t will be the largest
IN the country for the accommodation
or motor trucks.
Plans and specifications for the build
inss and their equipment have been pre-
pared and the work of erecting them
VIII be started soon.
The garage will be divided into about
thirty-fve units, each with a capacity
10 accommodate a motor truck company
OF thirty-three machines, or a total of
l,lh motor trucks.
! Machine shops will be built In con-
motor truck company is brought in
from the border the machines are to
be first placed in the shops and thor
oughly overhauled. The machine shops
Will be constructed of compressed steel
units and will be put together by means
OF bolts so that they can be taken down
ana moved on short notice at any time.
| AT this time there are more than 100
army motor trucks lined up in long rows
at Fort Sam Houston. The machines
nave no protection from the weather,
and 1t is in order to preserve them as
I much as possible that the garage and
| machine shops are to be built.
The sheds or garage will be built of
wood and galvanized iron. Each shed
will be $50 by a feet. and besides be-
Ing large enough to accommodate an
entire motor truck company, 1t will hold
the small officers car attached to II.
Maj. Albert c. Dalton, of the Quarter
masters Department. will be in charge
of the construction work. At Fort Bliss.
! near FL Paso. a twenty shed garage and
| machine shops will be built for the ac-
commodatlon of motor trucks on that
part of the border
Five months after the Hay army re-
organization act has taken effect, it is
| apparent that without radical changes in
\ certain parts of the act it will not ac-
| complish its purpose OF placing the mill
| tary establishment of the United States
In state of preparation sufficient to
| repel any attack that might be made
against the country, according to army
| officers generally.
| or course, five months does not con-
| stitute fair test for such a far-reach-
| Ing effort as this, but events of these
five months have served to prove in a
| manner what was contended before by
| opponents OF the bill, namely, that the
Hay bill would not and could not ac-
tually provide the number of men on
| which the foundation of preparedness
/ was to be laid.
| 1t is recognized that events of the fu-
| ture might change the present outlook
on the Hay act and that sufficient
| changes at this session of Congress
| might greatly increase its effectiveness.
but trained observers say enough time
/ has already elapsed to show the Hay
| act will not meet the demands of pre-
paredness.
The failure OF the act to accomplish its
| purpose lies along two lines: First, it
| has so far failed to provide the part
| of the army of 10000 men which was to
| be the foundation for the defensive policy
| of the United States. and second, it has
failed to provide the foundation for an
efficient and well-drilled reserve which
| would be counted in time of war as q
part of the first line Of defense.
Recruiting statistics show that a gigan-
| tic, IL not an impossible, task faces the
| Adjutant General OF the army in provid-
ing 10000 recruits by July l, 1920. The
present authorized strength of the army,
| including the increase that took effect on
July l, is approximately 133 900 men. OF
this number only about 112,Oc0 actually
are in the army, a shortage of n 100 men.
or a little less than onc-sixth of the total
| number, already existing. While the gain
| IN recruits for the last six months has
| been 10000 men. allowing for those whose
enlistments expired during the period, II
will be remembered that many of these
| recruits were obtained late in June. I'm
July. and in August, when there was a
| prospect of active service in Mexico
Statistics for succeeding months show
how the recruiting fell of after the pros
| pect of actual service vanished.