New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-05-10
The Old, Old Folly.

he Ond, Old ROXY.
Folly comes home TO roost quickly in
times of stress. On Monday the House
of Representatives refused, by decisive
vote, to give the country the regular army
which it needs The 221 members who re-
iected the Senate amendment TO the Hay
bill increasing the army's peace strength
to 100000 put the full weight of their
moral support behind Mr.. Hays pro-
gramme of anti-preparedness. They en-
powered him to fight to finish the Sen
ate's proposal to create a real army. They
commissioned him to insist on the main
tenance Of the present unequal and IRA
tional balance between regulars and state
militia in any agreement reached with the
Senate on the army reorganization bill.
The answer to this vicious attempt to
hamstring military preparation came yes
terday. President Wilson, having eX-
hausted all the other military resources
at his command in a vain effort to protect
the Mexican border, was forced to call on
Mexico and Arizona-to help out the over
taxed regulars. Every infantry and cav
airy post in continental United States has
been stripped to the last man to guard the
Southern boundary and to maintain COM
munication with General Pershing's tiny
expeditionary force.
Unless our government wants to use the
coast artillery or draft marines from the
Of trained fighting men is used up. 1t
must turn for aid. after two months, not
of actual war, but mere policing opera
tions in Mexico, to the half-trained, defec-
lively organized state organizations, which
Mr.. Hay and his followers want to make
the real backbone Of our military system.
These state troops are an impossible
reliance in case of emergency. 1t is not
their fault that they are useless for first
line purposes, since they are properly
classifable only as second or third line ma
terial. They have very limited field train
ing. They are not organized as regiments
in the modern sense. No militia regiment in
Texas, New Mexico and Arizona has a sup
ply company or a machine gun detach-
ment. Their staff service is defective.
They are not fit to campaign in difficult
country like that along the Mexican boun-
Diary, and under the limitations of the Con-
stitution they are not subject TO service
beyond the border. They can do guard
duty TO a certain extent and thus relieve
regular troops now assigned to such duty
at points behind the front. But they must
remain reinforcement of limited and
doubtful value at a time when our Off
GERS commanding on the border arc sorely
in need of new quotas OF thoroughly
equipped and disciplined troops.
The state militiamen are the only sec
ond line we have, and The Tribune IA
vorcd sending them in large numbers to
the border when General Pershing's punt
tive expedition first moved south from Co
lumbus. n. NJ. We can accomplish nothing
in Mexico without the display and use of
adequate military force. The more inn
pressive the demonstration the greater will
the result be, and the smaller the ultimate
cost
But IF Congress thinks that the military
situation on the border can be successfully
met now by the old device Of reinforcing
an understood regular army with half
trained state militia. it is destined TO an
other rude awakening. That device has
failed disastrously in all our wars. II
will fail again-even against impoverished
lanarchy-stricken Mexico.
The House of Representatives is SHINING
against all American experience in refus-
ing to create an adequate first line army
| in yielding to the self-nterestcd clamor Of
militia lobby which wants to exact its
price before preparedness legislation OF
any sort is allowed TO proceed. We can
not protect the Mexican border with the
insufficient regular army we have. This
the Administration at last admits. viii
/ Congress also admit it-and admit, as well
that the border will be no more adequately
defended by the army Of 10000 which Mr.
Hay wants TO establish than by the army
Of 1000 which now exists?
President Wilson, reversing himself once
more, said on Monday that peace strength
army of 100000 is entirely reasonable in