The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-03

BY FREDERICK PALMER, who has
been only official representative Of the en-
tire American press with the allies. |
Copyright. 1915. by the Wheeler Syndicate
Inc.
UMBERS count In modern war
numbers that are ready. Ihat
commander "who gets there
first with the most men wins
as the Confederate General FORREST
said. Germany had her numbers
ready. All that prevented her from
conquering Europe was that her oppo-
nents also had numbers ready, but not
so many and not quite so ready as the
result of the war proves to date.
In Europe every ablcbodied man Is
a soldier. The numbers are had mex
pensively. Patriotism and not the tax
payer foots the bill The United states
and Britain are the only countries that
hire" their soldiers, the only countries !
that have regular armies. therefore
we pay an extravagant price TOT
handful OF soldiers
We have military appropriation OF
S100O0OO00 year and get 100000 sol
equate guns, motor transport or ar
craft. Before the war Germany spent
S20O,OO0OOO n year and had standing |
army OF 100000 with ample modern |
equipment and reserve making to-
tai of 100000 ready for the field. |
France spent $2OO,OO0,OOO and had a |
standing army of 100000 and a total
of about 100000. But all her re-
serves were not equipped. That made
the difference 1t gave Germany the |
start
How long would any European army
that set out without reserves have
lasted in this war? With reserves you
fill the gaps made by death, wounds
and sickness. England had reserves.
otherwise soon after the retreat from
Mons her expeditionary force would
have been finished. BY filing up the
gaps with reserves she was fighting
with full battalions a month after. Sir
John French had fallen back on Paris.
If the United States army had suffered
similar disaster our 100000 would
have all been gone in three months.
Before we can have an adequate de-
Tense we must reform the army itself.
We must have new system. The
European system is the result of
hundred years experience 1t has stood
the test of time and of this war. Hard
ly an Englshman who has been in bat
tie but is for universal service. He
has learned from his warfare the err
ror of system which sends man
who is down on his luck" to the re.
cruiting sergeant standing IN n public
square or to climb the stairs In a side
street under the placard, Men wanted
for the United States army
If times are good we get few re-
cruts. When we have prosperity to
dc end our army is short of men. Our
p. rpcredness and our PATRIOTISM as far
as it is represented by preparedness,
fuctuate with the intnerant labor mar.
ket Bad times means thaWmore men
enlist to fight for the flag as a last re-
sort. In Europe the flow of recruits is
the same year in and year out The
system is definite and dependable
There is a deep moral idea back OF
universal service, which every Euro
pean realizes, but no American and
few Englishmen realized until this
war. What your country demands of
you is your life One mans life is
worth just as much to him as anoth.
er's. whether he is a day laborer or a
millionaire. 1t is the only capital he
has to give. In universal service you
have everybody of all classes shoulder
to shoulder. The result in Europe has
been practically no assertions, while
the percentage of assertions in our reg
ular army is colossal.
The United States has never fought
first class power single handed or
land. In the Revolution France helped
us. In 1912 the British were fighting
France at the same time as us. Yet
our raw levies were whipped in prac
tically every engagement in 1912. Al
Lundy's Lane we had regulars, at New
Orleans. trained frontiersmen ant
sharpShooters. A superior number o.
unframed troops retreated before In
ferior numbers of British who tool
and burned Washington. The school
books do not tell 1t that way. but 1t II
the truth. We need not be ashamed O
the truth, considering the skill of ou
armies north and south once they werI
prepared in the civil war, where the,
fought with unsurpassed heroiSm ant
efficiency. If in the north we had hat
100000 trained troops at the start o
the civil war we would have ended |
in six months; If the southern state
had had 100000 against the unprcpar
ed north they would have taken Wash
ington, Philadelphia and New York.
think that no professional officer will
dispute this. Soldering being the bust
ness of soldiers. they ought to know
what they are talking about
1--WE Have All but Soldiers and Guns.
In Europe they run their army plant
to full capacity. They economic
Their armies are busineSSlike inStitu
tions. 4 trained German soldier cost
Germany $500 year, or, counting tn
reserves. so n year! In France it
little higher. Our soldiers cost u
$4,000 year apiece.
We have pointed the finger of scor