Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-12-19
Both Generals Advocate Uni
verSaI Training of Young
Men Who Are Fit for Ser-
vice in War,
80 PER CENT OF MILITIA
PHYSICALLY DEFECTIVE
Had Raw Men Been Called to
Meet Good Troops They
Never Would Have Known
What Hit Them,

10y MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL LEAsFo wIREl
Washington Dec. lS.-The moblh-
zation Of the national guard for bor-
der service was descubed as a mill
tary failure, emphasiZing the urgent
Necessity cf abandoning the volunteer
system as the nations reliance for de-
tense, in statements today by Maj.
Gen. Hugh L. Scott, CHIEF Of staff of
the army, and Mai. Gen. Leonard
Wood, commanding the eastern de-
partmcnt, before the senate sub-com-
mittce, considering the Chamberlain
military training bill,
Both of the generals advocated uni
versal training General Wood de-
clared that the country now was W
terly defenseless against a well-organ-
lied foe; that the mobilization was
a tragedy, and that if the guardsmen
had met good troops, they would
never have known what hit them.
General Scott told the committee that
lessons drawn from the present war
proved that in case of war with first
class power, the United States would
need Immediately a trained force ot
/ 500 600 men with another l,5OO,0OO
available within ninety days.
Opposition Is Heard.
ON the other side of the question,
the committee heard Walter L. Fish-
err of Chicago, former secretary OF
the interior, who opposed universal
service, although he stood for ade-
quate defense measures and suggest
ed a regular army Of a half-million.
He thought if the pay of privates were
raised to $50 month, the service
would be more attractive to recruits
General Wood, from whose depart
ment went 5000 of the guardsmen
sent to the border said of the men
enrolled when the call came that an
average of 80 per cent of each com
pany had to be dropped for physical
defects and the organizations went
to the border filled up with green
men,
Its been tragedy" he said, "but
worth all it cost, if We only profit by
it. 1t was not the fault Of the off
GERS or men, but of a defective sys-
tenn II We Mad been compelled to
meet good troops down there, it woulo
have been a scene of carnage The
would never have known
W hat hit them"
Universal Service Needed.
'What should we do with the ma
tional guard General?" asked SenA
tor Brady
1T should be replaced as rapidly
as possible with men trained under
universal service system General
Wood replied. "When the system has
Been well started, | would drop the
national guard entirely from any
scheme of national defense, although
we want every officer and man of
them in the new plan. But it must
he straight-out federal force"
yet the state must maintain the
guard, or some other force,
Senator Brady suggested.
81 believe a constabuIary should be
by each state, not milf
tarY force" explained the general.
THE police are trained to control
while troops are trained TO kill"
General Woods Plan.
General Wood outlined his own plan
FOR universal service, which, in effect,
should be a combination Of the Cham
AnstraIian eystam ana tho French
rencrai siaff man TIis scheme would
,rovido That al nbvsicaiIy fit mon be
,i,.,,l t,ai1i,a d,lrinp
-ho nino4oonth VAN rasgfng tbem into
nv o,gani9ad ,.o,a,.,,o 10 no avaiIabIe
~ fjnet i;,,l ana. ,otn,oo,, tbo apas Of
~ ~ a,,d 90 ftar ,,,I,ich tl,o,, u,o,,Id be
1aseod infa Tho nnorganizod reserve
Nh 90 '''T e''v -, LII, ,",iJ Io con
.,,,I. '',,i r. .,i,-, ,,,,' ,,.i,b rull
[,,i,,, lo,o 1i ,,,,, ooo 00o no
~ "le'l'' 81 MOI 'i''u .,,.,,,.
',s'u' a. ~ ooo "''u'.,u'l W d c ,a9 Who
y V,ooG' ,t.;er ~, noreon-
" " e. Pro!tss'o''%I az 49, tbin, any ma
- ,i T0', no ,'',,' ror,arj,ed
'VI. W." ,r,.' ~ n .t,a5 rhat tho
&c, .rI'iIc tf,o fooIing, of tho
-eHei"l uIouEHI ol '''' t''''7
nation toward universal service pro- /