The Monticellonian., 1916-04-27


of the American people to a large
standing army.
Men Must Be Prepared.
The main point, as army men view
1t, is that this ride of Colonel Dodd and
his 400 troopers shows what real pre-
paredness means for the Individual
and 1t is further urged by the men Of
the service that this physical condi-
ton which Is necessary to make men
indure under all conditions cannot be
attained by National Guardsmen or by
volunteer forces until they have been
given months of daily training after
the same manner that 1t is given to
the men who follow the flag as regu-
lars
Apparently the effect will be here
after TO impress upon the country that
real preparedness consists in prepared
ness of men. 1t takes continued serv-
ice to keep men hard and fit for work
which may come Unexpectedly. The
sixty fouryear-old colonel who made
his fifty-fve miles in seventeen hours
and then fought for five hours has
been an active soldier for forty-four
years. this time including his service as
a cadet at West Point Dodd is one of
the few officers of high rank in the
American army who never has had
swivel chair" service except for a
period of time which is negligible.
Regular Is Always Fit.
It is learned from officers who have
made study of the whole prepared
ness situation that it is their belief
that II congress should authorize a
regular army of 250.000 men, which
would mean an army all told of about
$4,000 men, the people could rest
content that this country would be
safe from foreign invasion. 1t is not
at all likely. Judging from what one
hears from congress, that such force
will be authorized for a good many
years to come, but admission is made
by the lawmakers that the mainte-
nance of an army OF this size would
cost less than to support more elab-
crate embarrassing scheme which in
wolves simply partial preparation for
service of men whose main pursuits
are found in civil life.
The army men say. and they point
to Dodd's achievement to sustain 1t,
that the regular of all branches is fit
for instant service in the field He is
trained daily in all military branches
and the physical exercise which he
gets. the regularity of his hours and
his substantial and good food keep him
ready for emergencies. This naturally
enough is not true of the civilian sol
der who gets a month or so of train
ing every year and has the rest of the
time to do what he likes with him
self.
Brave Army Post Women.
An army post after the troops have
been ordered into the field is perhaps
one of the best places in the
world at which to find text
for a peace propaganda. The chances
are, however, that the women and
children of an army post would
object to having tfsir manifest anxi-
cites made the subject of discourses
Army women and children say
"good-by' to husbands and fathers
with cheerful faces, and If there are
tears afterward it is more than pos
sible that resentment would come if
any use were made of them in what
might seem to be an attempt to turn
the militant ones from their duty.
The cavalry the other day was or
dered from Fort Myer. which is Just
across the Potomac from Washing
ton, to the Mexican border with the
possibility, perhaps even the proba-
bility, that the service tour might be
extended into the field where other
cayalrymen already had taken up the
chase of the Mexican bandits. The
quarters at Fort Myer still are occu-
pied by the families of the fighters.
When women of an army post thus
are left behind with all the anxieties
and uncertainties connected with the
case they make a great showing OF
courage. Bridge parties, teas and
kindred social affairs still are the or
der, but many wrong card is played
and many possible trick overlooked
by some ordinarily expert woman
bridge player when she sits at table
with her thoughts on the border in
stead of on the game
The condition of things at Fort
Myer today is duplicated at many
other posts in the United States The
men have gone and the women and
children have stayed The newspa-
pers are read eagerly enough by the
ordinary civilian in order to get news
from Funston, or Pershing, or Dodd,
but the army women take the morning
and the evening paper the instant that
they can get it and read the head
lines. with something that is not far
removed from dread
In Washington and at Fort Myer
there is not evident in army circles
the dreadful anxiety that was so mani
fest during the Spanish war. The cas-
ualties in '9S on the battlefield were
not very great, although a consider
able number of officers were killed or
wounded. The gripping anxieties OF
the Spanish war itself were due In
large part to the exposure to dread
disease which was the lot of the army
man. Men came back from that serv-
ice who had never heard bullet whis-
tie, and yet had met worse foe, fever.
Many an army officer was compelled
to retire from the service because of
disease which had fixed itself upon
him in the insanitary camps OF one
section of the United States and of
Cuba