Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-01-04
Army and Navy Authorities Propose
to Spend Over Billion Dollars
to Defend the Western
Hemisphere,
TO DEFEND MONROE DOCTRINE
Possible Assault by Two Foreign
Powers from Pacific and At
lantic Seen.
SOLDIERS FOR TWIN CONTINENTS

Slbn pOW6TS 10 DTSdh OOWn Ine new
pan-American doctrine evolved from
maintenance by the United States
and acceptance by South and Central
American republics OF the Monroe
doctrine is one of the fundamental
bases for the national defense plans
formulated by army and navy stra-
tegists.
They believe II essential in the formu-
lation OF national military policy, II
was learned tonight. to provide against
the eventuality of an assault upon the
doctrine by either an AsIatio or a Euro
pean power, or even by an alliance OF
two such powers, which might hurl
forces simultaneously at the Atlantic and
Pacific coasts.
Ultimate Aim of Plan.
A navy equal in strength to those OF
any two world powers. except Great
Britain, and an army prepared 20 fight
for the integrity of the pan-American
idea anywhere in pan-America. is the
ultimate aim of the plan of the military
experts.
Ten years is the time the navy general
board believes the United States has in
which to prepare for a readjustment of
world forces which follow the European
war. In setting 1925 as the time when
the United States navy should equal any
afloat-which means reaching the two
power standard Of the British navy--the
board estimated that much time would
elapse before the shock of the present
war passed sufficiently TO permit any Of
the belligerents to look to South and
Central America FOR colonial development
or trade aggression.
Plans of the army war college would
be consummated in six years. The army
officers take the position that the
United States must have sufficient
troops and troop ships to land forces in
any threatened pan-American country to
meet an invader.
Policy Aggressive one.
All these preparations. II is now known,
have been presented by strategists to
the administration as essential to support
the Monroe doctrine, so that the United
States may be able to act alone, IL neces-
sary, to preserve fits ideal of no entan-
Cling alliances. Such ideals the military
students have stated, impose new duties
on the United States-duties that REQUIRE
something more than a policy OF mere
passive resistance
While the administrative branch Of the
government has submitted to congress a
definite plan which contemplates an in
creased expenditure of more than 81 200, 900
on the military and naval establishments
In the next six years, all other agencies
OF the government are acting to unity
and harmonic the Pan-American nations
To students of diplomacy the Pan-Ameri-
can declaration of President Wilson in
his opening address to congress; the
declarations for Pan-American unity
made to the Pan-Amerlcan Scientific con-
gress are by Secretary Lansing and the
general effort for unity OF all the AmerI-
cans on basis of friendship and equality.
take on added significance when con-
sidered in connections with tho admin
stration's preparedness plans.
a Significant Factor.
The recent announcement that the am
bassador from Argentine, Brazil and
Chile has ben selected by the United
States to represent it on the commissions
provided by the peace investigation
treaties with France. Great Britain and
Italy is regarded as one OF the significant
factors in this connection.
Significance also is seen in the dis
closure that an effort TO postpone the
Pan-American congress on the ground
that sufficient time had not been given
to prepare an adequate scientific program
was met by the statement that the United
States was insilently desirous of taking
prompt steps to further the spirit of Pan
American accord, confidently, sympathy
and mutually. South American capitals
uniformly report that the congress Is re-
garded there as more political than
scientific and that appreciation of the
sentiment of Pan-American unity is freely
expressed.
Information Not Revealed.
What confidential information the army
war college and the navy general board
may have gathered concerning the inten-
tions OF any certain power or powers Is
not being revealed; but there are certain
matters of general knowledge which are
known to have entered into the study OF
possibilities upon which the theory OF a
two-power attack upon the Monroe doc
trine was based.
| With the military problem agreed upon
and defined the two boards of strategists
were asked what, in their opinion. would
constitute adequate national defense.
Their answer was to build a two-power
navy and organize a federal army OF
sufficient size so that portion of II
could be used in any southern country
against a foreign invader without impair
the safety of the United, States itself.
Boards Recommendation.
To accomplish this the general board
then recommended for the navy:
/ 1. Authorization I'm isls-1T Of 500 OOO 90
! IN new ships, as against a total invest.
/ ment in fighting equipment now afloal
during the last thirty years OF $50 6e1 5a1
| 2. Construction OF four battle cruiR
ers and four dreadnoughts under this pro
pfam.
g. Expansion of ship building facilities
! 10 admit of even heavier building pro
grams in succeeding years.
For the army the war college recon-
mended:
l. Expenditure in 1851 of approx
mately SOo.OO0OOo TO produce mobile
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