Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-01-20
GENERAL WOOD
URGES LARGE
STANDING ARMY
Trained Force of 10000 Could
Land on Our Undefended
Coasts.
CONTINENTAL PLAN
IS SPONSORED
Nation Was Only Prepared Fol.
lowing Close Of the
Civil War.

a. ACOHdlu VOOu IOIu IAc oClie'IO AaAi
tary committee today the coast line
of the United States was open to at
tack by any we'll organized foreign
army, despite it's equipment of forts,
mines, and submarines, and that the
ocean formed no serious barrier to in
vasion, as demonstrated at Gallipoli.
He declared that in the country's
present state of utter unpreparedness
for war, trained force Of 100000
men could intlict incalculable damage
before any army could be assembled
to meet it.
Emphasizing his conviction that
troops cannot be improvised to meet
regulars. General Wood declared the
fundamental basis of any policy OF
adequate national defense must be
the principal that with suffrage goes
obligation for military service.
Prepared After Civil War.
"Only once in our history have we
been prepared for war; he added.
THAT was Immediately after the civil
war when we had a million and a half
trained soldiers. Our diplomatic cor
respondence with France concerning
Mexico was very brief 1t required
only one note because of our prepa-r
edness. They were told to get out
and they got out. There isn't going
to be any weakness abroad after this
war is over"
Urges A Reserve.
| AS to the immediate needs of the
regular army. General Wood express
ed the opinion that the force OF regu-
lars, with the colors should be main
tanned at 100000. OF these, he said,
10000 equipped and supplied for a
years time, should be kept in the
Philippines, another 10000 in Hawaii
and $1,000 at Panama. He urged that
the regulars should have a reserve
system under which in a siXyear en-.
listment men would be discharged
whenever their company commander
reported them as efficient into re.
serve to be assigned war stations.
Equipments for members of the re-
serve would be kept at their stations
and once every two years they would
be required to join the colors for ten
days training to keep them up to
date.
General Wood said that if univer-
sal military service was not to be OBJ
tanned, he favored a continental army
scheme substantially as proposed by
the war department, provided it is
absolutely divorced from the organ
lied militia"
At least 100000 men would Oe
needed, he declared, and they could
be obtained, he believed, only by
compulsory service.
Compliments Navy.
Stripped OF it's military secrets, the
annual report of Admiral Fletcher,
commander.in-chie of the Atlantic
fleet, was made public today by the
senate
1t says that on June 30, last, the
fleet was better balanced and doing
better shooting than ever before in
its history, but lists Is specific recon-
mendations as to conditions which
should be remedied, ranging from
shortage of men and stripped scout
cruisers and air craft to the elimina-
tion of the compulsory feature of the
nation's educational system. With
the admiral's report was a letter of
transmittal from Secretary Daniels
stating that many of the conditions
referred to had already been RENE
died, and that steps had been taken
to carry out other recommendations.
During the past year. says the re-
port, "the number of units assigned
to the fleet has been increased Is per
cent, resulting in a better balanced
fleet, as was shown by the maneu-
vers in August There are now in
the Atlantic fleet 11S vessels. of var
ious types, manned by force of
more than $4,000 men.
Referring to the maneuvers Of the
year, about which there had been
much discussion, Admiral Fletcher
states that "all the operations of
these maneuvers were successfully
carried out with the exception of the
movements of the submarines and the
results reflected credit upon the per-
sonnel of the fleet"