The Washington herald., 1916-07-01
Blame for Unpreparedness.

The chairman OF the Senate Committee on
Military Affairs. Mr. Chamberlain. in an interview
yesterday, based a powerful argument for COM
country's unprepared condition, disclosed by
the call to the militia for service the Mexi-
can border. Commencing the spirit of the Ma
tionai Guardsmen who, he asserted are better
prepared than the rest of the country, in spite
of the faults and defects of the Guard system.
Senator Chamberlain drew startling picture OF
national helplessness in emergency. He told OF
citizen soldiers being taken from stores and Of
fees in such physical condition that they tainted
when called on to march and drill few hours
in climate which, compared with Mexicos, is
like summer resort" He told of regiments be-
ing sent to the front short of equipment and
supplies of all sorts, many of the men never hav-
ing fred army rife. He referred also to the
inability of the railroad companies promptly to
provide transportation for troops and supplies
And for the whole deplorable situation he
blamed one in particular, but the American
people as whole
1T is the American people" said Senator
Chamberlain, who are responsible for few ma
chine guns, aero service to speak OF, a lack
of horses, an organization so inefficient that in
ten days We have succeeded in starting only a
few States to the border, and those in various
degrees of criminal unpreparedness.'
To the extent that they have not adopted
policy Of maintaining great army of trained
citizen soldiers ready for instant response when
war threatens, Senator Chamberlain justly holds
the American people responsible. He has seized
the opportunity to draw public attention to the
advantages of his plan for compulsory military
training for ALL and it is not impossible that the
country will be solemnly impressed with the les
son of its unpreparedness to deal quickly and eff
fectively with even so inferior a power as Mex
leo, though it has presented to US a threatening
problem for more than two years. 1t may be
that as a result of events of recent weeks the
people will radically change the military policy
that has always obtained in this country
While Senator Chamberlain blames the people
for what has been the country's permanent mill
tary policy his words apply with much more
force and severity to those who have been in
charge OF the government since Vera Cruz was
attacked and Funston's army entered Mexico two
years ago. What has the administration, of SEN
ator Chamberiain's own political party, and his
party In control of Congress done in those two
years to prepare for the present emergency that
was invited at Vera Cruz, and what has it done
since Pershings army invaded Mexico nearly
four months agos
1t Is not the American people as whole
who are responsible for few machine guns, no
aero service to speak OF, lack of horses, an
organization 50 inefficient that in ten days we
have succeeded in starting only few States to
the border and those in various degrees of GRIM
inal unpreparedness." For those conditions ex-
isting today the greatest responsibility rests upon
the government There is no reason for the
existence of any such measure of unpreparedness
nearly four months after Pershings invasion.
When the so-called punitive expedition started
war was almost as plainly in sight as it is to-
day. Army officers freely expressed the opinion
that an army of 100000 men would speedily be
required, and the country waited for the order
nobihzing the Guard on the border or the call
for volunteers; but they did not come. Senator
Chamberlain impressively describes conditions
that exist but should not exist He places all
the blame on the military policy which the
people have adopted for the country, but much of
it belongs with those who failed to prepare the
forces and the resources that were available,
when the need of them was plainly evident