Evening star., 1916-08-10
Military Inemciency.

tn8t can protect ourselves. we are not
2 too proud to fight
Military InefBciency.
Much of the nominees address was
devoted to the Mexican situation and
! the calling of the Nationa! Guard to
service on the border. There had been
/ warnings for two years that America
should be prepared, Mr. Hughes said,
( yet men the time came to put an army
! ON the border ito do police service"
there was presented "a spectacle show
ing ineficiency of the first magni-
; tude."
A large portion of the nominees ad-
dress was devoted to reiteration of his
views on the need for industrial CO.
operation and preparation for COM
mercial competition by Europe after
the war.
Mr. Hughes and party left for Grand
Forks. n. D., shortly after he had con-
cluded his address. Today he speaks
in Grand Forks and in the evening at
Fargo. n. D., where he will spend the
night. Tomorrow morning he leaves
for Helena. Mont.
Text of Address.
Afr. Hughes said, in part:
Il am a strong party man. / believe
in party organization as an essential
l..
believe in party organization as the
servant of a democratic people; and 1
stand as the representative of a party
in order that, through that essential
instrumentality, i may serve all the
men and women of the United States.
Il believe that there is no reasona-
BILE man in the progressive party and
no devout and strong organization man
in the republican party who holds to
the great ideals of the honor and pros
perity and efficiency of this nation who
cannot with good conscience sup
port my candidacy.
We have come from many lands.
, Here in the northwest we know that
Americanism is thing of the spirit
and not of the flesh. Wherever a man
is born, IL he is a naturalized Ameri
can citizen of the United States, he is
here heartily an American citizen with
American ideals, with American hopes,
ready to give. live and die for the
United States.
A United People.
II desire to see reinforcement of
!, the American sentiment in that con-
sciousness Of unity which displaces all
possibility of division. We must have
that inner feeling of intense loyalty.
What is there to divide US? We are
united people. and only through that
atty can we get the force and motive
power which will make US an efficient
nation ready to cope with the problems
of the twentieth century.
There was no excuse for permitting
our regular army to remain at so low
{ point that it could not perform mil
itary duty without summoning men un-
prepared for service from the length
and breadth of the land. That is not
spectacle of prepared nation. That
is condition for which hold the ad-
ministration responsible
"consider for a moment the facts. 1t
was only about a year and a half ago
that certain patriotic citizens were di-
recting attention to the need of pre-
paredness. to the need of the enlarge
ment of our regular army. The Pres
pressed his opinion that such persons
were nervous. excited: that there was
no real occasion Tor alarm; that there
were no conditions which made it
matter to be considered a real ex-
igency.
Change of Sentiment.
Then there came the torch of an
other leader. What a change in senti-
ment was wrought over night in the
councils OF the administration-there
was a feeling that an exigency did ex-
ist. and that something should be done;
that it was no longer nervousness: but
prudence. caution and foresight, which
required immediate action.
There was an able Secretary of War.
and he devoted himself with astute-
ness to the problem and he worked out
plan. He thought he had pinned the
administration that it would stay
put. i don't believe you could pin the
administration TO any policy that would
stay Put.
Well the matter got so bad that the
executive presented IL TO Congress
t'n.y a few months ago it was state.
that our present demand called for this
forthwith: Raising the regular army
from its total on paper-although il
was in fact somewhat less-of about
100000 to $4,000 and citizen reserve
of 5000, trained by federal authority
in the annual installments of $4,000
each.
That was TO be regarded as essen
tiaL Now, how long did that stay put?
Why. within short time the plan was
abandoned; the Secretary OF War re-
the President he practically pointed out
what he regarded as the inexcusa bic
aeandonment-I don't use his exact
words. but this was the substance Of
asry.
Executive Leadership.
Vow. why vas itNabs ndcned? We
hssSe hsd great deal of talk about ex-
ccptiye leadership. not conspicuous
then. when American preparedness was
ar issue Why was il necessary TO go
through the land dealing with the sub
jeet when Congress had it's mind open
10 know the executives will?
On the contrsry. there was what /
regard backJown. a change OF
front. II always has seemed to me most
rezrettabie that IL was a change of
front under conception of partisan
oxpediency. We had. as a result some
taips which is fraught with much mys-
fery
In the first place. under the army
rccTGa anization bill, we have paper
sruS cf $4,000. but an actual army for
re fEcsi year ending June 80. 1917 of
aboJt lfo.0QA and about Il, 200 more in
;iss fiscal Year ending June 30. 1918
We have then to rely upon the National
fuard.
"f'or the boys who have gone for
yard overwhelmingly to the duty to
which they were called and have been
sworn into the regular army over
.,ight for service that they had not
contemplated. and which do not think
me National Guard should be called
upon TO render-for those boys have
unstinted praise. But I condemn the
system which brought matters to that
pass.
Then what a spectacle was present.
ed! They were not properly equipped