The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-01-21
Former Chief Of Staff Tells SEN
ate Committee On Military A.
fairs Secretary's Army Meas.
urs Is Absurdly Inadequate
FOREIGN ENEMY EASILY
COULD LAND IN AMERICA
Regular Force Should Be Increas-
ed To At Least 10000 Men,
Of Whom 10000 Should Gar
rison Territory Of Hawaii
Associated Press BY Federal wirslsss.)

w Mai.-Gen. Leonard A. Wood,
commanding the Eastern De.
partment, former chief Of STAFF, test.
flying before the senate committee on
military affairs, which is considering
the administration bin for military
preparedness, said that the increase
in the armed forces Of the nation pro
posed by Secretary Garrison is alb
surdly inadequate in view Of the neces-
sites"
General Wood stated that at the
present time the American coasts lie
open to successful attack, despite the
forts, the mine fields and the snbmar
rines provided for their defense in the
event Of defeat of the navy and the
securing Of the command of the sea by
an enemy. The oceans, he said, offer
no serious barriers TO an invasion.
Coas.s Open To Invasion "a. B..
Should an enemy land force of
10000 trained men on American soil
which would be an easy task for any
one Of half a dozen Powers, the war
having demonstrated that the sea is
the, best medium for the movement
Of troops, the invader could infiict very
serious damage before the United
States could even assemble an army
to give battle. 49,. @
The basis of the defense policy Of
the United States should be, he said;
established on a principle that an OBJ
legation to serve the natien in mill
tary way accompanies the right to ex.
ercise the franchise.
Present plans for the increase in the
strength of the regular army should
aim at an establishment of not fewer
than 100000 men, of whom 10000
should be kept as a garrison for the
Hawaiian Islands, 10000 in the Philip
pines and $1,000 to garrison the posts
guarding the Panama Canal, leaving
$4,000 for the mainland United States
Favors Federal Militia -
General Wood agreed with Secretary
Garrison that there should be force
of. federal militia distinct from the ma
tional guards of the various States, a
force ON the lines of the proposed Con
tiRfntal army, over which the federal
government would have undisputed jurr
isdictiOn.r In many other respects,
however, the general disagreed radi.
eally With the secretary of war. 4
Secretary Garrison 5 plan for army
increase is absurdly inadequate in view
Of the neeessities,' he said. THE
proposals of the war department inii.
cato that Secretary Garrison has failed
to appreciate the lessons which Europe
has taught America regarding the
necessity Of ample preparedness for ma
tiOnAl defense. These lessons appear
not to have taught Secretary CARR.
soA that America today stands wholly
unprepared to wage a defensive war.
The secretary, In his recommendations
shows that he knows nothing Of the
problems that today clamor for solu.
tiOn.D PIX
General Wood praised the splendid
personnel of the militia Of the various
States, but declared that II could not
be Incorporated in a general scheme Of
defense because il is "cursed by a
hopeless system" ..H
Havon Compulsory Service t1 Y
celebrating his statement that the
right to vote should include an obliga
tion to serve the nation in military
way, General Wood stated that the citi-
zens must realize that all ought to be
liable for duty, as war would make
it necessary for the United States 10
raise and put into the field a force OF
not fewer than two million men. At
the present time, 10 secure that many,
eompulsion would have to be resorted
10, as only through a system of con
seription could an army of that size
be raised. q
The American navy today stands
fourth, he said. Great Britain stands
first, Germany is second and Japan Is
third N naval strength. ~
General Wood pointed TO the fact
that the belligerent nations in Europe
are today buying thousands of Lewis
machine guns, weapon invented by
an American army officer but turned
down by the ordnance bureau of the
war department because the weapons
which had been secured by the bureau
FOR testing turned out TO have been.
constructed Of faulty material. The
weapons were never tested as TO their
efficacy. .I