Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-03-18
INEXPERIENCED.

- ha.r0. INeAV
News dispatches show that army
and civil authorities are assigning var.
ious reasons for the delay Of the Unit
ed States army in crossing the border
to get Villa dead or alive as ordered ~
President Wilson. Doubtless the real
reason is that the army is not ready TO
begin its journey. The United States
army through no fault of it's own,
possibly-has never had opportunity TO
do any real maneuvering or expedition
planning and it Is wholly at loss how
10 70 about 1t. There Is no reason to
believe that the delay In pursuing the
Columbus murderers is due to any
thing other than sheer inef1ciency.
One has but to glance back to the
SPANISH American war to realize the
inefficiency of our inexperienced army
and inexperienced army ohicials. TO
begin with, many thousands more sol.
diers were recruited than were needed
and they were permitted to die by the
thousand in mobilization camps In
Florida. Those who survived did 80
Under dificulties. The army omcers
were totally unequal to the task OF
providing rations. for the thousands OF
soldiers. The infantry company from
Ottumwa received as its rations for
several days, nothing but -four 1t was
good -four and all that, but the COM
pany had no means for turning IT INTO
bread: neither did the soldiers nave
the knowledge Of bread making that
would have been necessary even nau
the government provided them w1th
the proper baking materials. That they
did not starve was due to their ability
to trade raw -four to other companies
that had been given some other staple.
hut not -four. Just talk with some Oh
the boys who went to Tampa Or 10
Cuba and you will hear Of scores OF
Incidents similar to the above. -
Another instance Of the inefficiency
~ the army, When the first expedition
reached Cuba, it found that the auth
critics had failed to send the wheels
FOR the field wagons. The WAGONS
were useless for days while the ships
were making the second trip to orlng
over the missing parts. During those
DAYS. the lack Of the field artillery re-
suited in heavy loss of life to the sol
der boys who had to do with the rlne
and the bayonet, work that the Dig
Guns. should have performed. There
was no way to transport supplies.
one OF the first dispatches coming
mn from the border this week was that
mules for the field. batteries had reach
ed certain place. The mules, at least
were all together because nature maze
them that way, Had It been necessary
to assemble the mules. chances are ten
to one. that the hind legs would have
been stored away in Washington IN
some forgotten corner.
Our army Is Joke, not because the
men who comprise it are inef1cient but
because the penuriousness OF pork
barrel congress has kept it from fitting
itself'to perform real work. Our army
Il the last word in inefficiency and in
sufliciency and the sooner we get over
the idea that 1t amounts to more than
= couple Of whoops, the sooner we will
get down to the business of making
It what it should be to protect vast,
rich country like the United States. :
II the delay is charged to the need
for getting ready an army that IS
strong. enough to fight both Villas
bandits and the soldiers of General
Carranza, then 1t is yet another proof
of the mental unpreparedness of the
United States army for there has
never been any reason to doubt that
such an emergency would exist. There
has never been any doubt that astute
Mexican political leaders will seek to
unite the Mexican factions with the
plea of united resistance to, the
invader