The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1916-04-28

'oooion Dy uncle Sam Of a regular
army Dig enough to do things on the
instant, they urge the rooted objection
OF the American people to large
standing army.
Men Must Be Prepared.
Inc main point. as army men view
y, IS that this ride of Colonel Dodd and
MS 4O0 troopers shows what real pre-
paredness means for the Individual
ana It Is further urged by the men of
me 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
gwen months OF daily training after
the same manner that it 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. It takes continued serv-
Ice to keep men hard and fit for work
which may come unexpectedly. The
|
MS flfty-five 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
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.
1t is learned from officers who have
made study of the whole prepared
ness situation that 1t is their belief
that II congress should authorize a
regular army of 100000 men, which
would mean an army all told of about
100000 men, the people could rest
content that this country would be
safe from foreign invasion. It 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 It,,
that the regular of all branches is At
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 their 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 ii
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
cavalrymen 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 o.
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 For
Myer today is duplicated at man,
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 thai
they can get it and read the head
lines, with something that is not fal
removed from dread.
In Washington and at Fort Myel
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 wers
u. Ill To-