New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-05-15
Mr.. Hays Victory.

Tor Mr.. Hay, inc arCh-cncmy IN congress
of military preparedness. He first de-
clared war on Secretary Garrison, because
the latter believed in creating something
like real army. The Secretary was
soon worsted and driven from the Cabinet.
Then Mr.. Hay subjugated President
Wilson. compelling him to drop the Con-
tinental Army plan. He boasted in the
House that the President was behind the
Hay bill. which sought to prevent ra-
tional enlargement Of the regular army
and to base our whole system of national
defence OF the preposterously insecure
foundation of a "Federalized" national
guard. The President remained silent.
He accepted Mr.. Hays leadership without
murmur of protest
Now the chairman Of the House Com
mittee on Military Affairs has met and
vanquished the Senate. which for time
seemed ready 10 stand out for the creation
Of a real first line Of defence. The con-
ference agreement is a decisive defeat for
Mr.. Chamberlain and his associates in the
Senate who were willing-but not suffi-
GENTLY deteruineG-to give the country
that minimum regular army of 100000
which the War College Division of the
General Staff had declared TO be essen
tial to our military security.
Mr.. Hay has won all along the line.
To help the Senate conferrees cover up
their defeat he graciously allowed the mis-
leading statement to 20 out that the
agreement provided for a regular army of
a peace strength Of 100000 men. That IS
only a diplomats fiction. The minimum
peace strength provided for is 100000 men.
At the option of :he President that total
NAV be increased To $4,000. The fictitious
total of 100000 is obtained by adding the
non,combatants of :he Quartermaster's De
partment and of the Medical Department
who. under existing statutes, cannot be in
cuded in the strength of the regular
army; the Philippine scouts, who are
local insular organization. and do not now
belong to the regular establishment, and
various other detachments not properly
classifable as part Of the army's actual
fighting force.
Mr.. Hays bill. as il passed the House,
provided for a combatant strength Of
about 100000. This total would not have
furnished a mobile army in continental
United States large enough to be organ
lied on modern basis or to do the work.
either as a defence force or as a school
of instruction. which a mobile army ought
TO do. The General Staff has estimated
that a minimum Of $4,000 men is required
for oversee garrison purposes and mini
mum of $4,000 for hcme coast artillery
duty. Excluding these, there would be.
under the Hay bill, only about 10000
troops left for mobile service. Under the
conference bill there would be only 1000,
with a possibility If $4,000. But the mini
mum mobile force needed IN continental
United States is 12l,000
Mr.. Hay is satisfied so long as he can
prevent the development of real first
line of national defence He can still
achieve his object, in spite Of some half
way concessions to preparedness senti-
ment, if he succeeds in holding the mobile
. army down to a figure somewhere between
81 900 and $4,000. So far as the regular
army is concerned he is passing off on
the country a system of half-preparedness
of sham preparedness-not very much
better than our present system of depend
ing on Providence and dispensing with any
preparedness at al.
Moreover, in killing off the volunteer
Federal army scheme and fastening on the
IL
more than three times as large as the
present national guard, Mr.. Hay has
clnched his victory for the cause of pac-
ifsm and anti-preparedness. If guard
of about $4,000 men can go into Federal
politics and dictate the terms on which
the army of the United States is reor
gained what limit will there be to the
political power of 4 guard of 425,000 men?
Mr.. Hay has been in Congress long
time. He knows the game. When he
started out 10 Kill off real preparedness
legislation he rallied behind him just the
influences necessary TO stampede the Ad-
ministration and TO stand off the Senate.
He created bond of interest between the
noliticians at the Capitol and the polltl-
clans of the state militia organizations.
The pork barrel combine which he created
has held firm against all arguments and
nersuasions based on such unconvinclng
distractions as national interest and mill
tary policy. As a result the national de-
fence has been sacrificed to sham scheme
Of military preparation, in which the nut
urc of the national guard has been put
brazenly above tn" future Of the country.
Congress may yield to the pressure Of
pacifism and politics and pass this confer
ence bill. The Democratic party may thus
confess the wretched hypocrisy Of ITS pre-
.paredness programme. But the country